Nonvolatile memory transistor

ABSTRACT

A charge retention characteristic of a nonvolatile memory transistor is improved. A first insulating film that functions as a tunnel insulating film, a charge storage layer, and a second insulating film are sandwiched between a semiconductor substrate and a conductive film. The charge storage layer is formed of two silicon nitride films. A silicon nitride film which is a lower layer is formed using NH 3  as a nitrogen source gas by a CVD method and contains a larger number of N—H bonds than the upper layer. A second silicon nitride film which is an upper layer is formed using N 2  as a nitrogen source gas by a CVD method and contains a larger number of Si—H bonds than the lower layer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having anonvolatile semiconductor memory element capable of writing, reading,and erasing.

Note that a “semiconductor device” in this specification refers to ageneral device that can function using semiconductor characteristics,and electro-optical devices, semiconductor circuits, and electronicdevices can all be considered semiconductor devices.

2. Description of the Related Art

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory element is a semiconductor elementcapable of electrically rewriting and storing data even when a powersupply is turned off. As the nonvolatile semiconductor memory element,nonvolatile memory transistors having a structure similar to that of ametal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) areclassified into two major groups in terms of charge storage means. Oneis a floating gate (FG) type in which a charge storage unit is faultedof a conductive layer between a channel formation region and a gateelectrode; the other is a metal-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (MONOS) typeand a metal-nitride-oxide-silicon (MNOS) type each of which uses acharge trapping layer as a charge storage means.

In many of the MONOS memory transistors and the MNOS memory transistors,a silicon nitride film that contains many charge traps is used as acharge storage means. In order to improve charge retentioncharacteristics of the MONOS memory transistors and the MNOS memorytransistors, silicon nitride films have been researched.

For example, improvement in retention characteristics of a memorytransistor by provision of a silicon nitride film having a two-layerstructure including different compositions or composition ratios isdescribed in References 1 to 4. Improvement in retention characteristicsby provision of a silicon nitride film having a three-layer structureincluding different composition ratios is formed is described inReference 5.

In Reference 1 (Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No.H2-59632), a silicon nitride film containing Si—H bonds is formed as alower layer, and a silicon nitride film which hardly contains Si—H bondsis fainted as an upper layer. A silicon nitride film having such atwo-layer structure is formed by a CVD method in which SiH₄ and NH₃ areused as source materials, providing that a formation temperature when asilicon nitride film is formed as a lower layer is set at 700° C. to900° C. and a formation temperature when a silicon nitride film isformed as an upper layer is set at 900° C. or higher.

In Reference 2 (Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No.S59-24547), a silicon nitride film which contains a lot of Si is formedas a lower layer, and a silicon nitride film which contains a lot of Nis formed as an upper layer. In order to form a silicon nitride filmhaving such a two-layer structure, a CVD method in which SiH₄ and NH₃are used as source materials is used, and a flow ratio of NH₃/SiH₄ isset at 50 to 150 when a lower layer is formed and the flow ratio ofNH₃/SiH₄ is set at over 300 when an upper layer is formed.

In Reference 3 (Japanese Published Patent Application No. S63-205965), asilicon nitride film having a relatively high conductivity is formed asa lower layer, and a silicon nitride film having a relatively lowconductivity is formed as an upper layer by a CVD method. As a conditionto form a silicon nitride film having such a two-layer structure, thefollowing is described: heating temperature is at 700° C. to 800° C.,SiH₂Cl₂ and NH₃ are used as source materials, a flow ratio ofNH₃/SiH₂Cl₂ is set at 0.1 to 150 when a lower layer is formed, and theflow ratio of NH₃/SiH₂Cl₂ is set at 10 to 1000 when an upper layer isformed.

In Reference 4 (Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-203917),a silicon nitride film having a two-layer structure in which the chargetrap density of an upper layer is set higher than that of a lower layeris formed by a CVD method. To form a silicon nitride film having such atwo-layer structure, the following is described: SiH₄, SiH₂Cl₂, or thelike in which the composition ratio of chlorine is lower than that of asilicon source gas used when a lower layer is formed is used as asilicon source gas used when an upper layer is formed. In Reference 4,by changing the composition ratio of chlorine of a silicon source gas, asilicon nitride film containing a larger number of Si—Cl bonds than Si—Hbonds is formed as a lower layer and a silicon nitride film containing alot of Si—H bonds is formed as an upper layer.

In Reference 5 (Japanese Published Patent Application No. H3-9571), asilicon nitride film having a three-layer structure is described, inwhich charge trap level density of a second-layer silicon nitride filmis higher than those of the other layers and the concentration of Si ofthe second-layer silicon nitride film is increased. To form a siliconnitride film having such a three-layer structure, the flow rate ofSiH₂Cl₂ is increased at the time when the second layer is formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to improve charge retentioncharacteristics of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element.

One aspect of the present inventions is a semiconductor device having anonvolatile semiconductor memory element. The nonvolatile semiconductormemory element is formed of a semiconductor and includes a semiconductorregion which includes a source region, a drain region, and a channelformation region, and a conductive film overlapped with the channelformation region. To form a charge trap, at least a first insulatingfilm overlapped with the channel formation region, a first siliconnitride film formed over the first insulating film, and a second siliconnitride formed over the first silicon nitride film are sandwichedbetween the semiconductor region and the conductive film. Further, thenonvolatile semiconductor memory element can include a second insulatingfilm formed over the second silicon nitride film which is sandwichedbetween the semiconductor region and the conductive film.

The present invention is made by focusing attention on a bonding stateof H in silicon nitride. One aspect of the present invention is toimprove retention characteristics of a nonvolatile semiconductor memoryelement by higher N—H bond concentration of a first silicon nitride filmthan that of the second silicon nitride film.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the second siliconnitride film be a film which contains a larger number of Si—H bondsand/or Si—X bonds (X is a halogen element) than in the first siliconnitride film.

It is preferable that a ratio of Si—H bond concentration to N—H bondconcentration of the second silicon nitride film, ((Si—H)/(N—H)), belarger than that of the first silicon nitride film. Alternatively, it ispreferable that a ratio of Si—X bond concentration (X is a halogenelement) to N—H bond concentration of the second silicon nitride film,((Si—X)/(N—H)), be larger than that of the first silicon nitride film.Alternatively, it is preferable that a ratio of the sum of Si—H bondconcentration and Si—X bond concentration (X is a halogen element) toN—H bond concentration of the second silicon nitride film,((Si—H+Si—X)/(N—H)), be larger than that of the first silicon nitridefilm.

It is preferable that the second silicon nitride film be a film which iscloser to Si₃N₄ than the first silicon nitride film stoichiometrically.

In the present invention, the first silicon nitride film and the secondsilicon nitride film are formed by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD)method. As this CVD method, a low-pressure CVD method, a plasma CVDmethod, a thermal CVD method, a catalytic chemical vapor deposition(Cat-CVD) method, or the like can be used.

To form the first silicon nitride film and the second silicon nitridefilm which have different N—H bond concentrations, a hydronitrogen gasthat contains N—H bonds is used for a nitrogen source gas which servesas a source material of the first silicon nitride film. Meanwhile, for anitrogen source gas of the second silicon nitride film, a gas which doesnot substantially contain N—H bonds, that is, a gas which does notsubstantially contain hydrogen in a composition is used.

It is preferable that ammonia (NH₃) be used for the nitrogen source gasof the first silicon nitride film. Instead of ammonia (NH₃), hydrazine(NH₂H₂N) can be used as well. It is preferable that a nitrogen (N₂) gasbe used for the nitrogen source gas of the second silicon nitride film.

For the silicon source gas used for the formation of the first siliconnitride film and the second silicon nitride film, a gas that containshydrogen or halogen in a composition can be used. As the silicon sourcegas, there are SiH₄, Si₂H₆, SiCl₄, SiHCl₃, SiH₂Cl₂, SiH₃Cl₃, SiF₄, andthe like. The first silicon nitride film and the second silicon nitridefilm may be formed using either the same silicon source gas or differentsilicon source gases.

In the nonvolatile semiconductor memory element of the presentinvention, as a writing method and an erasing method of data, any one ofa method which uses Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling current, a methodwhich uses direct tunneling current, or a method which uses hot carrierscan be used.

According to the present invention, charge retention characteristics ofa nonvolatile semiconductor memory element can be improved, and asemiconductor device provided with data storage capability with highreliability can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a capacitor (Element 1) which isformed so as to evaluate retention characteristics of a nonvolatilesemiconductor memory element of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views each illustrating a capacitorwhich is formed so as to evaluate retention characteristics of anonvolatile semiconductor memory element of a comparative example.

FIG. 5 is a graph which shows retention characteristics of the Element1.

FIG. 6 is a graph which shows retention characteristics of theComparative Element A.

FIG. 7 is a graph which shows retention characteristics of theComparative Element B.

FIG. 8 is a graph which shows retention characteristics of theComparative Element C.

FIG. 9 is an absorption spectrum of FTIR of a silicon nitride film.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram which shows a structural example of asemiconductor device.

FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram which shows a structural example of amemory cell array.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram which shows a structural example of amemory cell array.

FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram which shows a structural example of amemory cell array.

FIGS. 22A and 22B are each a circuit diagram which describes a writingoperation of a memory cell array.

FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram which describes an erasing operation of amemory cell array.

FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram which describes a reading operation of amemory cell array.

FIGS. 25A to 25C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 26A to 26C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 27A to 27C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 28A and 28B are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIG. 29 is a top view illustrating a method for manufacturing asemiconductor device.

FIG. 30 is a top view illustrating a method for manufacturing asemiconductor device.

FIG. 31 is a top view illustrating a method for manufacturing asemiconductor device.

FIGS. 32A to 32C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 33A to 33C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 34A to 34C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 35A to 35C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 36A to 36C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 37A to 37C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 38A to 38C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 39A to 39C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 40A to 40C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 41A to 41C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 42A to 42C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 43A to 43C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 44A and 44B are top views illustrating a method for manufacturinga semiconductor device.

FIGS. 45A and 45B are top views illustrating a method for manufacturinga semiconductor device.

FIGS. 46A and 46B are top views illustrating a method for manufacturinga semiconductor device.

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 48A to 48C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIGS. 49A to 49C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a semiconductor device.

FIG. 50 is a block diagram illustrating a structural example of asemiconductor device that can transmit data without contact.

FIGS. 51A and 51B are diagrams each illustrating a usage mode of asemiconductor device that can transmit data without contact.

FIGS. 52A to 52E are outside views of electronic devices having anonvolatile semiconductor memory device.

FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of anonvolatile memory transistor of an embodiment.

FIGS. 54A to 54C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIGS. 55A to 55C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIGS. 56A to 56C are cross-sectional views illustrating a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile memory transistor.

FIGS. 57A to 57D are graphs showing retention characteristics of memorytransistors of an embodiment and comparative examples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described. However, thepresent invention can be implemented in various modes. As can be easilyunderstood by those skilled in the art, the modes and details of thepresent invention can be changed in various ways without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the presentinvention should not be taken as being limited to the followingdescription of the embodiment modes and embodiment.

Embodiment Mode 1

In this embodiment mode, an example in which a nonvolatile memorytransistor is applied to the present invention as a nonvolatile memoryelement will be described. First, a structure of a nonvolatile memorytransistor of the present invention and a manufacturing method thereofwill be described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view so as to describe a main structure of aMONOS-type nonvolatile memory transistor. A nonvolatile memorytransistor of FIG. 1 includes a semiconductor substrate 21 provided witha semiconductor region 10 and a well 22. By formation of the well 22 inthe semiconductor substrate 21, the semiconductor region 10 used forforming a memory transistor is defined. In the semiconductor region 10,a channel formation region 16, and a high concentration impurity region17 and a high concentration impurity region 18 which sandwich thechannel formation region 16 are formed. The high concentration impurityregions 17 and 18 are regions each to serve as a source region or adrain region of the memory transistor.

When the semiconductor substrate 21 is a p-type substrate, thesemiconductor substrate 21 is doped with an impurity which impartsn-type conductivity such as phosphorus (P) or arsenic (As) by an ionimplantation process or the like so that the well 22 is formed. When thesemiconductor substrate 21 is an n-type substrate, the semiconductorsubstrate 21 is doped with an impurity which imparts p-type conductivitysuch as boron (B) so that the well 22 is formed. The concentration ofthe impurity which imparts n-type or p-type conductivity of the well 22is approximately 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ to 1×10¹⁶ cm⁻³. The well 22 is formed asappropriate, if necessary.

Over the semiconductor region 10, a first insulating film 11, a firstsilicon nitride film 12, a second silicon nitride film 13, a secondinsulating film 14, and a conductive film 15 are stacked in this order.These films 11 to 15 are overlapped with the channel formation region 16in the semiconductor region 10.

The conductive film 15 functions as a gate electrode of the memorytransistor. The first silicon nitride film 12 and the second siliconnitride film 13 are used as a charge storage layer. As a method fortaking charge in and out of the charge storage layer (a writing methodand an erasing method of a nonvolatile memory transistor), there are amethod that uses F-N tunneling current, a method that uses directtunneling current, and a method that uses hot carriers. The nonvolatilememory transistor of this embodiment mode can use a method selected fromthese methods, as appropriate, as the writing method and the erasingmethod.

The first insulating film 11 is formed to be thin so that charge passesthrough the first insulating film 11, the thickness thereof ispreferably greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 10nm, and more preferably, greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than orequal to 5 nm. The first insulating film 11 can be formed of asingle-layer film that is formed of an insulating material selected fromsilicon oxide, silicon oxynitride (SiO_(x)N_(y)), aluminum oxide,tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, and hafnium oxide. In addition, thefirst insulating film 11 can be formed of a two-layer structure in whichan insulating film formed of an insulating material selected fromsilicon oxynitride (SiO_(x)N_(y)), aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide,zirconium oxide, and hafnium oxide is stacked on a silicon oxide film,as well.

For example, as a method for forming the silicon oxide film, there arethermal oxidation of the semiconductor substrate 21, oxidation of thesemiconductor substrate 21 by generation of an oxygen radical withplasma treatment, a CVD method such as a plasma CVD method, and thelike. As a method for forming the silicon oxynitride film, there are amethod in which the semiconductor substrate 21 is oxidized by thermaloxidation treatment or plasma treatment and a silicon oxide film thusobtained is nitrided by thermal nitridation treatment or plasmatreatment, a method for forming the silicon oxynitride film by a CVDmethod such as a plasma CVD method, and the like. The film formed ofmetal oxide such as aluminum oxide can be formed by a sputtering method,a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, or the like.

The first silicon nitride film 12 is formed by a CVD method such aslow-pressure CVD method, a plasma CVD method, a thermal CVD method, or aCat-CVD method. By use of a plasma CVD method, heating temperature canbe set at less than or equal to 600° C. As a nitrogen source gas toserve as a source material of the first silicon nitride film 12, ahydronitrogen gas that contains N—H bonds is used. Specifically, ammonia(NH₃) is preferably used for this nitrogen source gas, and hydrazine(NH₂H₂N) can also be used instead of ammonia (NH₃).

As the silicon source gas to serve as a source material of the firstsilicon nitride film 12, a gas that contains hydrogen or halogen in acomposition is used. As such a gas, there are SiH₄, Si₂H₆, SiCl₄,SiHCl₃, SiH₂Cl₂, SiH₃Cl₃, SiF₄, and the like.

A flow ratio of the nitrogen source gas to the silicon source gas, (Nsource gas/Si source gas), can be set to be greater than or equal to 0.1and less than or equal to 1000, and this flow ratio is preferablygreater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 400.

A gas other than the nitrogen source gas and the silicon source gas eachserving as a source material can be added to a process gas of CVD at thetime when the first silicon nitride film is formed. As such a gas, thereare a noble gas such as He, Ar, and Xe; a hydrogen (H₂) gas; and thelike.

The second silicon nitride film 13 is formed by a CVD method such as alow-pressure CVD method, a plasma CVD method, a thermal CVD method, or aCat-CVD method. By use of a plasma CVD method, heating temperature canbe set at less than or equal to 600° C. As a nitrogen source gas toserve as a source material of the second silicon nitride film, a gasthat does not substantially contain N—H bonds is used. Specifically, anitrogen (N₂) gas is preferably used for this nitrogen source gas.

Similarly to the case of the first silicon nitride film 12, as a siliconsource gas to serve as a source material of the second silicon nitridefilm 13, a gas selected from SiH₄, Si₂H₆, SiCl₄, SiHCl₃, SiH₂Cl₂,SiH₃Cl₃, and SiF₄ can be used.

A gas other than the nitrogen source gas and the silicon source gas eachserving as a source material can be added to a process gas of CVD at thetime when the second silicon nitride film 13 is formed. As such a gas,there are a noble gas such as He, Ar, and Xe; a hydrogen (H₂) gas; andthe like. To promote ionization of the N₂ gas, a noble gas such as He,Ar, or Xe is preferably added to the source material gas.

A flow ratio of the nitrogen source gas to the silicon source gas, (Nsource gas/Si source gas), can be set to be greater than or equal to 0.1and less than or equal to 1000, and this flow ratio is preferablygreater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 400.

By regulating the flow amount and kind of the process gas, the firstsilicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 can beformed in succession in the same reaction chamber of a CVD apparatus. Inthis manner, the first silicon nitride film 12 and the second siliconnitride film 13 can be formed without exposure of an interface betweenthe first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13to the air; therefore, formation of an unstable charge trap level at theinterface can be prevented. In addition, even when a CVD apparatushaving a plurality of reaction chambers is used and the first siliconnitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 are formed indifferent reaction chambers without taking out a substrate from the CVDapparatus, contamination at the interface can be similarly prevented.

The first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13function as the charge storage layer. Due to different nitrogen sourcegases, the first silicon nitride film contains a larger number of N—Hbonds than the second silicon nitride film. The first silicon nitridefilm 12 has lower Si—H bond concentration or Si—X bond concentration (Xis a halogen element) that comes from the silicon source gas than thesecond silicon nitride film 13.

The first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13each can have a thickness of greater than or equal to 1 nm and less thanor equal to 20 nm, and preferably, greater than or equal to 5 nm andless than or equal to 15 nm. It is preferable that the total thicknessof the first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film13 be less than or equal to 15 nm.

The second insulating film 14 can be formed at a thickness of greaterthan or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to 20 nm. The secondinsulating film 14 preferably has a thickness of greater than or equalto 5 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm. The second insulating film 14can be formed of a single-layer film or a multilayer film having two ormore layers which is formed of an insulating material selected fromsilicon oxide, silicon oxynitride (SiO_(x)N_(y)), silicon nitride,aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, and hafnium oxide. Aninsulating film that forms the second insulating film 14 can be formedby a thermal oxidation method, a CVD method, or a sputtering method. Forexample, when the second insulating film 14 has a multilayer structure,a method can be used in which thermal oxidation is performed on thesecond silicon nitride film 13, and then a film formed of the aboveinsulating material is deposited by a CVD method or a sputtering method.

The conductive film 15 forms a gate electrode of the nonvolatile memorytransistor and can be formed of a single-layer film or a multilayer filmhaving two or more layers. As a conductive material which forms theconductive film 15, a metal selected from tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W),titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), niobium (Nb), and thelike; an alloy or a compound (e.g., metal nitride or silicide)containing any of these metals as its main component; or polycrystallinesilicon doped with an impurity element such as phosphorus can be used.For example, the conductive film 15 can have a multilayer structureincluding metal nitride of a single layer or a plurality of layers and alayer formed of a simple substance metal thereover. For this metalnitride, tungsten nitride, molybdenum nitride, or titanium nitride canbe used. By formation of a metal nitride layer to be in contact with thesecond insulating film 14, separation of a metal layer thereover can beprevented. Since the metal nitride such as tantalum nitride has a highwork function, the first insulating film 11 can be thick due to asynergy effect with the second insulating film 14.

The high concentration impurity regions 17 and 18 formed in thesemiconductor region 10 are formed in a self-aligned manner in such away that the semiconductor substrate 21 is doped with an impurity by anion implantation process when the stacked film formed of the films 11 to15 is used as a mask. When the well 22 is a p type, the highconcentration impurity regions 17 and 18 are doped with impurities whichimpart n-type conductivity. When the well 22 is an n type, the highconcentration impurity regions 17 and 18 are doped with impurities whichimpart p-type conductivity.

The nonvolatile memory transistor of FIG. 1 is a memory element in whicha semiconductor region is formed in a semiconductor substrate. Asemiconductor film formed over an insulating film can be used as asemiconductor region, as well. In FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of anonvolatile memory transistor having such a semiconductor region isshown.

As a substrate 31, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a sapphiresubstrate, a ceramic substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a metalsubstrate, or the like can be used. The substrate 31 may be a substratedifferent from a substrate used at the time of fabrication of anonvolatile memory transistor. In this case, as the substrate 31, aplastic film can be used as well.

A base insulating film 32 is formed over the substrate 31, and asemiconductor film 33 to serve as the semiconductor region 10 is formedover the base insulating film 32. The base insulating film 32 is formedso that an interface level of the semiconductor film 33 on the substrate31 side can be made good, and a contaminant such as an alkali metal fromthe substrate 31 can be prevented from entering the semiconductor film33. The base insulating film 32 is not necessarily formed. The baseinsulating film 32 can be formed of a single-layer film or a stackedfilm of an insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride,or silicon oxynitride.

The semiconductor film 33 is formed of a crystalline semiconductor film,and in the case where a non-single-crystal semiconductor film is used, apolycrystalline semiconductor is preferably used. For a semiconductormaterial, silicon is preferably used, and each of silicon germanium andgermanium can be used as well. As a crystallization method of thesemiconductor film, a laser crystallization method, a crystallizationmethod by heat treatment using rapid thermal annealing (RTA) or anannealing furnace, a crystallization method using a metal element whichpromotes crystallization, or a method combining these methods can beadopted. An example of a method for forming the semiconductor film 33 isdescribed. Over the base insulating film 32, an amorphous silicon filmis formed at a thickness of 10 nm to 100 nm by a plasma CVD method.Next, the amorphous silicon film is irradiated with a laser beam to becrystallized, so that a polycrystalline silicon film is formed. Thepolycrystalline silicon film is etched to form the semiconductor film 33having a desired shape. In the case of FIG. 2, the semiconductor region10 is formed into the island-shaped semiconductor film 33 for thepurpose of element isolation.

Note that, in the nonvolatile memory transistor of FIG. 2, the firstinsulating film 11 may be formed to cover the semiconductor film 33 in asimilar manner to a nonvolatile memory transistor of FIG. 13 instead ofbeing processed into the same shape as the first silicon nitride film 12and the second silicon nitride film 13.

The nonvolatile memory transistor of FIG. 2 is formed in such a way thatthe semiconductor region 10 is separated into island shapes. In thisway, elements can be separated more effectively even in the case where amemory cell array and a logic circuit are formed over the same substratethan when a bulk semiconductor substrate is used. That is, even if amemory cell array that needs voltage of approximately 10 V to 20 V forwriting or erasing data and a logic circuit which is operated at voltageof approximately 3 V to 7 V and mainly used for inputting or outputtingdata or controlling instructions are formed over the same substrate,mutual interference due to a difference in the voltage applied to eachelement can be prevented.

In order to increase the number of rewriting times of a nonvolatilememory transistor, the first insulating film 11 needs a high withstandvoltage characteristic. However, in the case where the substrate 31 hasa distortion temperature of approximately 630° C. to 750° C. which islower than that of the semiconductor substrate 21, such as a glasssubstrate, heating temperature is limited by the distortion temperatureof the substrate. Therefore, even when the first insulating film 11 isformed by thermal oxidation or thermal nitridation, it is very difficultto form a film that is superior in a withstand voltage characteristic.In addition, the first insulating film 11 can be deposited by a CVDmethod or a sputtering method at a heating temperature of less than orequal to the distortion point of the substrate. A withstand voltagecharacteristic of an insulating film which is formed in such a manner isnot enough because a defect exists inside the film. In addition, a thininsulating film formed at a thickness of approximately 1 nm to 10 nm bya CVD method or a sputtering method easily generates a defect such as apinhole. Further, a film formation method by a CVD method or asputtering method is inferior to a film formation method by thermaloxidation or the like in step coverage.

Accordingly, in the case where a substrate having a distortiontemperature of less than or equal to 750° C. is used, it is verypreferable that the first insulating film 11 having a high withstandvoltage be formed by solid-phase oxidation or solid-phase nitridation byplasma. This is because the insulating film formed using thesemiconductor (typically, silicon) to which oxidation or nitridation byplasma treatment is performed is dense, and has high withstand voltageand excellent reliability even when a heating temperature at the time offormation is less than or equal to 500° C.

Further, an insulating film may be deposited by a CVD method or asputtering method, and solid-phase oxidation treatment or solid-phasenitridation treatment may be performed on this insulating film by plasmato form the first insulating film 11, whereby the withstand voltagecharacteristic can be increased.

It is preferable that high density plasma that has an electron densityof greater than or equal to 1×10¹¹ cm⁻³ and less than or equal to 1×10¹³cm⁻³ and an electron temperature of greater than or equal to 0.5 eV andless than or equal to 1.5 eV and that has been excited by a microwave(typically, a microwave with a frequency of 2.45 GHz) be used forsolid-phase oxidation treatment or solid-phase nitridation treatment byplasma treatment. This is for forming a dense insulating film at apractical reaction rate at a heating temperature of less than or equalto 500° C. by using high density plasma. That is, in the plasmatreatment using a microwave by effectively using an active radical whichis excited by plasma, oxidation or nitridation can be performed by asolid-phase reaction at a low substrate heating temperature of less thanor equal to 500° C.

In the case where oxidation treatment is performed by this high densityplasma treatment, an oxygen radical is generated by introduction of agas that contains oxygen in a composition (e.g., oxygen (O₂) ordinitrogen monoxide (N₂O) and a noble gas (containing at least one ofHe, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe). An oxygen radical can be generated efficientlyby excited species of a noble gas. An oxygen radical (an OH radical isincluded in some cases) is generated by introduction of a gas thatcontains oxygen in a composition, a hydrogen (H₂) gas, and a noble gasinto a reaction chamber.

In the case where nitridation treatment is performed by high densityplasma treatment, a nitrogen radical is generated by introduction ofnitrogen (N₂) and a noble gas (containing at least one of He, Ne, Ar,Kr, and Xe) into the reaction chamber. A nitrogen radical can begenerated efficiently by excited species of a noble gas. In addition, ahydrogen gas as well as a nitrogen gas can be introduced into thereaction chamber. Further, ammonia (NH₃) can be introduced into thereaction chamber, so that a nitrogen radical (including an NH radical)can be generated. In this case, a noble gas can be introduced into thereaction chamber. For example, in the case where nitrogen and argon areused, it is preferable that nitrogen be introduced at a flow rate of 20sccm to 2000 sccm and argon be introduced at a flow rate of 100 sccm to10000 sccm into the reaction chamber. For example, the flow rate ofnitrogen is set at 200 sccm, and the flow rate of argon is set at 1000sccm.

An example of a method for forming the first insulating film 11 by highdensity plasma treatment is described. First, the semiconductor film 33is oxidized by high density plasma treatment which generates an oxygenradical to form a silicon oxide film having a thickness of 3 nm to 6 nm.Next, this silicon oxide film is nitrided by high density plasmatreatment which generates a nitrogen radical. The first insulating film11 having high reliability can be formed by using high density plasmatreatment even when the substrate heating temperature is less than orequal to 500° C. This is because, in the high density plasma treatment,a surface to be formed is not directly exposed to plasma and an electrontemperature is low, so that damage to a film to be formed by plasma issmall. In particular, oxidation treatment is performed, and thennitridation treatment is performed so that the first insulating film 11which is suitable for a nonvolatile memory transistor can be formed.

In the nonvolatile transistor of FIG. 2, when a CVD method is employedto form the films 12 to 14, it is preferable to employ a plasma CVDmethod because a deposition rate is practical and the substrate heatingtemperature can be set at less than or equal to 600° C. Further, when aplasma CVD method is used, the substrate heating temperature can be setat less than or equal to 500° C.

Hereinafter, improvement in a charge retention characteristic of anonvolatile memory transistor by a stacked-layer structure of the firstsilicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 will bedescribed with reference to experimental data. In addition, improvementof a charge retention characteristic by the first silicon nitride film12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 which are formed by a plasmaCVD method under the condition that the heating temperature is less thanor equal to 500° C. will be described.

To evaluate the first silicon nitride film 12 and the second siliconnitride film 13 of the present invention, a MOS type capacitor wasformed using a silicon substrate. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view ofthe formed capacitor. This capacitor is referred to as an “Element 1.”In the Element 1, a first insulating film 42, a silicon nitride layer43, a second insulating film 44, and an electrode 45 are stacked in thisorder over a silicon substrate 41. The silicon substrate 41 is a p-typesingle-crystal silicon substrate. The silicon nitride layer 43 has atwo-layer structure of the first silicon nitride film 12 and the secondsilicon nitride film 13. The Element 1 was formed as follows.

To form the first insulating film 42, first, the surface of the siliconsubstrate 41 was oxidized by plasma treatment which generates plasma bya microwave to form a silicon oxide film. This oxidation plasmatreatment was performed in such a way that a substrate temperature wasset at 400° C., a pressure was set at 106 Pa, and a microwave with afrequency of 2.45 GHz was introduced into a reaction chamber while an Argas at a flow rate of 900 sccm and an O₂ gas at a flow rate of 5 sccmgas were supplied to the reaction chamber to excite plasma. The time ofplasma treatment was regulated so that a silicon oxide film having athickness of 3 nm was formed.

Next, this silicon oxide film was nitrided by plasma treatment whichgenerates plasma by a microwave. This plasma nitridation treatment wasperformed as follows. A substrate temperature was set at 400° C., areaction pressure was set at 12 Pa, and a microwave with a frequency of2.45 GHz was introduced into a reaction chamber while an Ar gas at aflow rate of 1000 sccm and an O₂ gas at a flow rate of 200 sccm weresupplied to the reaction chamber to excite plasma. The time of plasmatreatment was set for 90 seconds. The first insulating film 42 wasformed by the above method.

Next, the silicon nitride layer 43 was formed over the first insulatingfilm 42. First, the first silicon nitride film 12 was formed by a plasmaCVD method over the first insulating film 42. As a nitrogen source gas,NH₃ was used, and as a silicon source gas, SiH₄ was used. A substratetemperature was set at 400° C., a reaction pressure was set at 40 Pa,SiH₄ at a flow rate of 2 sccm and NH₃ at a flow rate of 400 sccm weresupplied to the reaction chamber. A distance between electrodes was setat 30 mm, and RF power was set at 100 W.

Next, the second silicon nitride film 13 was formed by a plasma CVDmethod over the first silicon nitride film 12. As a nitrogen source gas,N₂ was used. As a silicon source gas, SiH₄ was used. As a process gas,Ar was used to promote ionization of N₂. SiH₄ at a flow rate of 2 sccm,N₂ at a flow rate of 400 sccm, and Ar at a flow rate of 50 sccm weresupplied to the reaction chamber. In a similar manner to the formationof the first silicon nitride film 12, a substrate temperature was set at400° C., a reaction pressure was set at 40 Pa, a distance betweenelectrodes was set at 30 mm, and RF power was set at 100 W.

Here, the first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitridefilm 13 were formed in succession in the same reaction chamber of aplasma CVD apparatus. Each of the first silicon nitride film 12 and thesecond silicon nitride film 13 has a thickness of 5 nm.

Next, the second insulating film 44 was formed over the second siliconnitride film 13. Here, SiH₄ and N₂O were used as a source gas by aplasma CVD method, and a silicon oxynitride film having a thickness of10 nm was formed. Next, an Al—Ti alloy film having a thickness of 400 nmwas formed over the second insulating film 44 with a sputteringapparatus and the Al—Ti alloy film was processed into a predeterminedshape by etching, whereby the electrode 45 was formed. As describedabove, the Element 1 was completed.

For comparison with the Element 1, three kinds of MOS type capacitorswere formed. FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views of these.Capacitors shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are referred to as aComparative Element A, a Comparative Element B, and a ComparativeElement C, respectively.

The Comparative Elements A to C are different from the Element 1 only ina structure of the silicon nitride layer 43, and the thickness of thesilicon nitride layer 43 is 10 nm, which is the same as that of theElement 1. In the Comparative Element A, the silicon nitride layer 43 isformed of a single-layer film of the first silicon nitride film 12having a thickness of 10 nm. In the Comparative Element B, the siliconnitride layer 43 is formed of a single-layer film of the second siliconnitride film 13 having a thickness of 10 nm. The Comparative Element Chas the silicon nitride layer 43 whose stacking order is reverse to theElement 1, the second silicon nitride film 13 having a thickness of 5 nmis formed as a lower layer, and the first silicon nitride film 12 havinga thickness of 5 nm is formed as an upper layer.

The Comparative Elements A to C were formed by the same method as theElement 1. That is, the first silicon nitride film 12 of the Element 1and the first silicon nitride film 12 of each of the Comparative ElementA and the Comparative Element C were formed by the same conditions. Thesecond silicon nitride film 13 of the Element 1 and the second siliconnitride film 13 of each of the Comparative Element B and the ComparativeElement C were formed by the same conditions.

To evaluate a charge retention characteristic of the silicon nitridelayer 43 of each element, capacitance-voltage characteristics of eachelement were measured. The measurement was performed as follows. Toevaluate a charge retention characteristic after writing of data, avoltage of 17 V was applied to the electrode 45 for 10 millisecondswhile a metal halide lamp emitted light, and electrons were injectedinto the silicon nitride layer 43. Note that, since the siliconsubstrate 41 is a p type, electrons are minority carriers. Thus, themetal halide lamp emitted light to the silicon substrate 41 to exciteelectrons. Then, the state in which the silicon substrate 41 was heatedat 150° C. with a hot plate was kept. Capacitance-voltagecharacteristics were measured before the writing operation, just afterthe writing operation, and after a predetermined time passed after thewriting operation.

To evaluate a charge retention characteristic after written data iserased, first, the same writing operation as the above was performed.Next, to perform the erasing operation, a voltage of −15 V was appliedto the electrode 45 for 10 milliseconds to inject holes into the siliconnitride layer 43. Then, the state in which the silicon substrate 41 washeated at 150° C. with a hot plate was kept. Capacitance-voltagecharacteristics were measured before the writing operation, just afterthe writing operation, just after the erasing operation, and after apredetermined time passed after the erasing operation.

Retention characteristics of the Element 1 and the Comparative ElementsA to C were calculated from the capacitance-voltage characteristicsafter the writing operation and the capacitance-voltage characteristicsafter the writing operation and the erasing operation. The measurementresults are shown in graphs of FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5 shows the retentioncharacteristic of the Element 1. FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 show the retentioncharacteristics of the Comparative Elements A, B, and C, respectively.The horizontal axis of each of FIGS. 5 to 8 shows the elapsed time fromthe writing operation and the erasing operation. Note that, because thehorizontal axis is a log scale, a point when the writing operation isperformed and a point when the erasing operation is performed aredenoted by 0.1 hour. The voltage Vm of the vertical axis is a voltagevalue that is calculated from the measurement results of thecapacitance-voltage characteristics. Of tangent lines for the graphs ofthe capacitance-voltage characteristics, the voltage Vm of the verticalaxis is a voltage value when a capacitance value is a half of themaximum when a gradient of the tangent line is the largest.

From the graphs of retention characteristics of FIGS. 5 to 8, athreshold voltage window is obtained by subtracting a threshold voltagefor when each element is in an erasing state from a threshold voltagefor when each element is in a writing state. Table 1 shows a thresholdvoltage window (hereinafter referred to as a “Vth window”) in which theholding time of each element is 1000 hours. Here, the threshold voltagein a writing state and the threshold voltage in an erasing state are setat a voltage Vm of writing characteristics and a voltage Vm of erasingcharacteristics, respectively. From a difference between the voltage Vmof writing characteristics with an elapsed time of 1000 hours and thevoltage Vm of erasing characteristics with an elapsed time of 1000hours, a Vth window with a holding time of 1000 hours was calculated.Note that the voltage Vm of writing characteristics after 1000 hours wascalculated by extrapolating a graph of writing characteristics. On theother hand, providing that an element returns to an initial state (thestate before the writing operation) after 1000 hours after the erasingoperation, the voltage Vm of erasing characteristics after 1000 hourswas set at a value of the voltage Vm of the initial state (elapsed timeis 0 hour). Note that as for the voltage Vm of writing characteristicsof an initial state, the Element 1 and the Comparative Element A areapproximately −0.8 V, and the Comparative Elements B and C areapproximately −0.9 V.

Table 1 shows that the Vth window of the Element 1 is widest. Inaddition, Table 1 shows that the charge retention characteristic isimproved by using a stacked-layer structure like the Element 1 ratherthan using a single layer of the first silicon nitride film 12 or thesecond silicon nitride film 13 when the silicon nitride layer 43 isformed. On the other hand, it is found that when the first siliconnitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 are stacked inreverse order of the Element 1, the charge retention characteristic getsworse than the silicon nitride layer 43 having a stacked-layerstructure.

TABLE 1 Vth Window Element 1 2.15 Comparative Element A 1.36 ComparativeElement B 1.27 Comparative Element C 1.01

Thus, the composition of the first silicon nitride film 12 in which NH₃is used as a nitrogen source gas, the composition of the second siliconnitride film 13 in which N₂ is used as a nitrogen source gas, and eachcomposition ratio was measured using Rutherford BackscatteringSpectrometry (RBS) and Hydrogen Forward scattering Spectrometry (HFS).

Here, three kinds of the first silicon nitride films 12 and two kinds ofthe second silicon nitride films 13 which were different from oneanother in a reactive gas and flow rate were each formed at a thicknessof 100 nm over a single-crystal silicon substrate. Here, in order todistinguish the three kinds of the first silicon nitride films 12, theyare referred to as a silicon nitride film 12-a, a silicon nitride film12-b, and a silicon nitride film 12-c, and the two kinds of the secondsilicon nitride films 13 are referred to as a silicon nitride film 13-aand a silicon nitride film 13-b.

A process gas and flow rate which were used to form each of the siliconnitride films 12-a, 12-b, 12-c, 13-a, and 13-b are shown in Table 2.

For comparison, a silicon source gas of all silicon nitride films wasSiH₄, and the flow rate thereof was set at 2 sccm. The silicon nitridefilms 12-a, 12-b, 12-c, 13-a, and 13-b were formed by a plasma CVDmethod, and a substrate temperature was set at 400° C., a reactionpressure was set at 40 Pa, and a distance between electrodes was set at30 mm at the time of film formation. The silicon nitride film 12-a was afilm Minted under the same condition as the first silicon nitride film12 of each of the Element 1, the Comparative Element A, and theComparative Element C. The silicon nitride film 13-a was a film formedunder the same condition as the second silicon nitride film 13 of eachof the Element 1, the Comparative Element B, and the Comparative ElementC.

TABLE 2 Process gases and Flow rate thereof [sccm] SiN film SiH₄ NH₃ N₂Ar H₂ 12-a 2 400 — — — 12-b 2 100 — — 400 12-c 2 100 — 400 — 13-a 2 —400 50 — 13-b 2 — 100 400 —

Measurement results of RBS and HFS of the silicon nitride films 12-a,12-b, 12-c, 13-a, and 13-b are shown in Table 3. Note that oxygenconcentration is a value of less than or equal to the minimum limit ofdetection.

TABLE 3 Concentration [atomic %] Composition Density SiN film H Si NSi/N atoms/cm³ g/cm³ 12-a 21.4 30.4 48.2 0.63 8.10 × 10²² 2.1 12-b 17.333.9 48.8 0.69 7.90 × 10²² 2.2 12-c 20.7 31.3 48.0 0.65 8.00 × 10²² 2.113-a 10.3 38.5 51.2 0.75 7.50 × 10²² 2.2 13-b 9.7 38.2 52.1 0.73 7.50 ×10²² 2.2

A bonding state of an element that forms each of the silicon nitridefilms 12-a, 12-b, and 13-a was analyzed by Fourier Transform InfraredSpectroscopy (FTIR). FIG. 9 shows an absorption spectrum of the siliconnitride films 12-a, 12-b, and 13-a with FTIR. The N—H bond concentrationand the Si—H bond concentration were quantified by using the absorptionspectrum of FIG. 9. The concentrations are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Concentration Concentration [atoms/cm³] ratio SiN film N—H Si—HN—H + Si—H Si—H/N—H 12-a 9.10 × 10²¹ 2.00 × 10²⁰ 9.30 × 10²¹ 2.20 × 10⁻²12-b 7.54 × 10²¹ 2.18 × 10²⁰ 7.76 × 10²¹ 2.89 × 10⁻² 13-a 2.29 × 10²¹3.25 × 10²¹ 5.54 × 10²¹ 1.42

The measurement data of Table 3 and Table 4 shows that the nitrogenconcentration of the second silicon nitride film 13 is higher than thatof the first silicon nitride film 12 but the N—H bond concentration ofthe first silicon nitride film 12 is higher than that of the secondsilicon nitride film 13. That is, the data shows that the chargeretention characteristic of the Element 1 is improved by providing thefirst silicon nitride film that contains more nitrogen bonding withhydrogen as a lower layer.

The Si—H bond concentration of the first silicon nitride film 12 islower than that of the second silicon nitride film 13, and the Si—H bondconcentration of the first silicon nitride film 12 is approximately 1/10of that of the second silicon nitride film 13. In addition, as for theratio ((Si—H)/(N—H)) of the Si—H bond concentration to the N—H bondconcentration, the second silicon nitride film 13 is approximately 100times higher than the first silicon nitride film 12. Accordingly, thecharge retention characteristic of the Element 1 can be improved byforming a silicon nitride film having a high concentration ratio((Si—H)/(N—H)) as an upper layer, that is, on the side distant from achannel formation region and forming a silicon nitride film having a lowconcentration ratio on the channel formation region side.

When the attention is focused on the composition ratio of Si/N of Table3, the second silicon nitride film 13 is a film stoichiometricallycloser to Si₃N₄ than the first silicon nitride film 12.

Note that, in the case where a gas that contains halogen (e.g., SiCl₄,SiHCl₃, SiH₂Cl₂, SiH₃Cl₃, SiF₄, or the like) is used as a silicon sourcegas, a silicon nitride film includes Si—X bonds (X is a halogenelement). Since the Si—X bond concentration is influenced by the kind ofthe nitrogen source gas, the silicon nitride film can be formed so thatthe Si—X bond concentration has a similar tendency to the Si—H bonds ofTable 4.

Therefore, in the case where a gas that contains hydrogen or halogen(e.g., SiH₄, SiCl₄, SiF₄SiHCl₃, SiH₂Cl₂, or SiH₃Cl₃) is used as asilicon source gas, the sum of the Si—X bond concentration and the Si—Hbond concentration of the second silicon nitride film 13 can be higher,and the ratio of the sum of the Si—X bond concentration and the Si—Hbond concentration to the N—H bond concentration, ((Si—H+Si—X)/(N—H)),of the second silicon nitride film 13 can be higher than those of thefirst silicon nitride film 12.

In the case where silicon source gases of the first silicon nitride film12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 contain halogen incompositions, like SiCl₄ or SiF₄, and do not contain hydrogen, the Si—Xbond concentration of the second silicon nitride film 13 can be higherthan that of the first silicon nitride film 12. In this case, the ratioof the Si—X bond concentration to the N—H bond concentration,((Si—X)/(N—H)), of the second silicon nitride film 13 can also be higherthan that of the first silicon nitride film 12.

Therefore, the first silicon nitride film 12 that contains a largernumber of N—H bonds is provided on the channel formation region 16 sideand the second silicon nitride film 13 that contains a smaller number ofN—H bonds is provided on the conductive film 15 side so that a chargeretention characteristic of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory elementcan be improved.

It is added that the first silicon nitride film 12 and the secondsilicon nitride film 13 shown in Table 2 are films formed by a plasmaCVD method at a heating temperature of less than or equal to 500° C.,and these silicon nitride films are films which can be formed over asubstrate having a distortion temperature of less than or equal to 750°C., like a glass substrate.

Next, nonvolatile memory transistors each having a cross-sectionalstructure that is different from each of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 10 to 17. The same reference numerals as FIGS. 1and 2 indicate the same components, and repetitive description thereofis omitted.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are cross-sectional views showing another structuralexample of a nonvolatile memory transistor. Each of the nonvolatilememory transistors shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is provided with a spacer 35formed of an insulating film on side walls of a stacked film that isformed of the first insulating film 11, the first silicon nitride film12, the second silicon nitride film 13, the second insulating film 14,and the conductive film 15. The spacer 35 is also referred to as asidewall. Formation of the spacer 35 has an effect to prevent chargethat is stored in the second silicon nitride film 13 from leaking to theconductive film 15. In addition, by use of the spacer 35, a lowconcentration impurity region 17 a and a low concentration impurityregion 18 a which are adjacent to the channel formation region 16 can beformed in a self-aligned manner.

The low concentration impurity regions 17 a and 18 a function as lowconcentration drains (LDDs: lightly doped drains). The low concentrationimpurity regions 17 a and 18 a are provided so that deterioration of thefirst insulating film 11 due to repetition of the reading operation canbe suppressed.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are cross-sectional views each showing anotherstructural example of a nonvolatile memory transistor. The nonvolatilememory transistors shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 differ from those of FIGS. 1and 2 in that the first insulating film 11, the first silicon nitridefilm 12, the second silicon nitride film 13, and the second insulatingfilm 14 are not processed into the same shape as the conductive film 15.

In the structures of FIGS. 12 and 13, the first insulating film 11, thefirst silicon nitride film 12, the second silicon nitride film 13, andthe second insulating film 14 are formed to cover the high concentrationimpurity regions 17 and 18 by using adjacent memory transistors. In thiscase, in a manufacture process, the films 11 to 15 are not removed byetching to expose the semiconductor region 10; therefore, damage on thesemiconductor region 10 can be reduced. Since there is no etchingprocess of the films 11 to 15, throughput can be improved.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are cross-sectional views each showing anotherstructural example of a nonvolatile memory transistor. As thenonvolatile memory transistors of FIGS. 14 and 15, the width in achannel length direction of the stacked film that is formed of the firstinsulating film 11, the first silicon nitride film 12, and the secondsilicon nitride film 13 is longer than that of the conductive film 15.The second insulating film 14 is formed to cover the stacked film thatis formed of the films 11 to 13 and the high concentration impurityregions 17 and 18.

When the stacked film that is formed of the films 11 to 13 and theconductive film 15 have any structure shown in FIG. 14 or 15, thechannel formation region 16, the high concentration impurity regions 17and 18, and the low concentration impurity regions 17 a and 18 a can beformed in a self-aligned manner in the semiconductor region 10. When theconductive film 15 and the stacked film that is formed of the films 11to 13 are used as masks and the semiconductor region 10 is doped with animpurity which imparts n-type or p-type conductivity, the channelformation region 16, the high concentration impurity regions 17 and 18,and the low concentration impurity regions 17 a and 18 a are formed in aself-aligned manner in the semiconductor region 10. Accordingly, thefirst insulating film 11, the first silicon nitride film 12, and thesecond silicon nitride film 13 are overlapped with the low concentrationimpurity regions 17 a and 18 a.

Note that, in FIG. 15, the first insulating film 11 is not necessarilyprocessed into the same shape as the first silicon nitride film 12 andthe second silicon nitride film 13, but the first insulating film 11 canbe formed to cover the semiconductor film 33 as shown in FIG. 13, aswell.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are cross-sectional views each showing anotherstructural example of a nonvolatile memory transistor. The conductivefilm 15 is formed so that the width of the conductive film 15 in achannel length direction is longer than the channel length. The secondinsulating film 14 is formed to cover the first silicon nitride film 12and the second silicon nitride film 13.

The first silicon nitride film 12, the second silicon nitride film 13,and the conductive film 15 have such a structure as shown in FIG. 16 or17 so that the channel formation region 16, the high concentrationimpurity regions 17 and 18, and the low concentration impurity regions17 a and 18 a can be formed in a self-aligned manner in thesemiconductor region 10.

The first insulating film 11, the first silicon nitride film 12, thesecond silicon nitride film 13, and the second insulating film 14 areformed over the semiconductor region 10, as shown in FIG. 16 or 17.Before the conductive film 15 is formed, the first silicon nitride film12 and the second silicon nitride film 13 are used as masks, and thesemiconductor region 10 is doped with an impurity which imparts n-typeor p-type conductivity at a low concentration to form low concentrationimpurity regions. After that, the conductive film 15 having such astructure as shown in FIG. 16 or 17 is formed. Next, the conductive film15 is used as a mask, and the semiconductor region 10 is doped with animpurity which imparts n-type or p-type conductivity at a highconcentration. By this doping step of impurities, the channel formationregion 16, the high concentration impurity regions 17 and 18, and thelow concentration impurity regions 17 a and 18 a are formed in aself-aligned manner in the semiconductor region 10.

Note that, in the nonvolatile memory transistor of FIG. 17, the firstinsulating film 11 is not necessarily processed into the same shape asthe first silicon nitride film 12 and the second silicon nitride film13, but the first insulating film 11 can be formed to cover thesemiconductor film 33 as shown in FIG. 13, as well.

In FIGS. 1, 10, 12, 14, and 17, a bulk single-crystal or polycrystallinesilicon substrate (silicon wafer), a single-crystal or polycrystallinesilicon germanium substrate, or a single-crystal or polycrystallinegermanium substrate can be used as the semiconductor substrate 21.Further, an SOI (silicon-on-insulator) substrate can be used as well. Asthe SOI substrate, a so-called SIMOX (separation by implanted oxygen)substrate can be used, which is formed in such a manner that afteroxygen ions are injected into a mirror-polished wafer andhigh-temperature annealing is performed so that an oxide layer is formedat a certain depth from the surface and defects generated in a surfacelayer are eliminated. In the case where an SOI substrate is used, thesemiconductor region 10 is formed in a thin silicon layer over an oxidelayer formed in a substrate; even when the well 22 is not formed,elements can be separated. In a similar manner to the SOI substrate, anSGOI (silicon-germanium on insulator) substrate or a GOI (germanium oninsulator) substrate can also be used.

Although a MONOS nonvolatile memory transistor is described as anexample of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element with reference toFIGS. 1, 2 and FIGS. 10 to 17, a nonvolatile memory transistor having anMNOS structure can be applied to a nonvolatile semiconductor memoryelement of the present invention. In each of the MONOS nonvolatilememory transistors of FIGS. 1, 2 and FIGS. 10 to 17, the conductive film15 may be formed in contact with the second silicon nitride film 13without forming the second insulating film 14 so that a nonvolatilememory transistor having an MNOS structure can be faulted.

Embodiment Mode 2

In this embodiment mode, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device willbe described as a semiconductor device of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a structural example of a nonvolatilesemiconductor memory device. In the nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice of FIG. 18, a memory cell array 52 and a logic portion 54 whichis connected to the memory cell array 52 and which controls the writingoperation, the erasing operation, the reading operation, and the likeare formed over the same substrate. The memory cell array 52 includes aplurality of word lines WLs, a plurality of bit lines BLs which arecrossed to the word lines WLs, and a plurality of memory cells MCsconnected to the word lines WLs and the bit lines BLs. As a storage unitof data of the memory cells MCs, the nonvolatile memory transistordescribed in Embodiment Mode 1 is used. Accordingly, a nonvolatilesemiconductor memory device which is superior in a charge retentioncharacteristic and has high reliability can be obtained.

The structure of the logic portion 54 is as follows. A row decoder 62for selection of the word line and a column decoder 64 for selection ofthe bit line are provided around the memory cell array 52. An address istransmitted to a control circuit 58 through an address buffer 56, and aninner row address signal and an inner column address signal aretransferred to the row decoder 62 and the column decoder 64,respectively.

A potential obtained by boosting a power supply potential is used forwriting and erasing of data. Therefore, a booster circuit 60 controlledby the control circuit 58 according to an operation mode is provided.Output of the booster circuit 60 is supplied to the word line WL or thebit line BL formed in the memory cell array 52 through the row decoder62 and the column decoder 64. Data output from the column decoder 64 isinput to a sense amplifier 66. Data read by the sense amplifier 66 isretained in a data buffer 68. Data retained in the data buffer 68 isaccessed randomly by control by the control circuit 58, and is outputthrough a data input/output buffer 70. Writing data is once retained inthe data buffer 68 through the data input/output buffer 70 and istransferred to the column decoder 64 by control by the control circuit58.

In the memory cell array 52, a potential that differs from the powersupply potential is necessary to be used. Therefore, it is desirablethat at least the memory cell array 52 and the logic portion 54 beelectrically insulated and isolated. As described in Embodiment Modes 3to 6, when a nonvolatile memory element and a transistor of a peripheralcircuit are formed using a semiconductor film formed over an insulatingfilm, insulation and isolation can be easily performed. Accordingly, anonvolatile semiconductor memory device with no malfunction and lowpower consumption can be obtained.

Hereinafter, a structural example of the memory cell array will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21. FIG. 19 is a circuit diagramshowing a structural example of the memory cell array 52. The memorycells MCs are arranged in matrix. In FIG. 19, the memory cells MCs at 3rows×2 columns are shown. Each memory cell MC stores information of 1bit and includes a switching transistor Ts and a nonvolatile memorytransistor Tm which are connected in series. The memory cell array 52 isprovided with bit lines BL0 and BL1 and source lines SL0 and SL1 forevery column. In addition, first word lines WL1 to WL3 and second wordlines WL11 to WL13 are provided for every row.

When the attention is focused on the memory cell MC specified by the bitline BL0 and the first word line WL1, a gate of a switching transistorTs01 is connected to the second word line WL11, one of a source and adrain of the switching transistor Ts01 is connected to the bit line BL0,and the other thereof is connected to a nonvolatile memory transistorTm01. A gate of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm01 is connected tothe first word line WL1, one of a source and a drain of the nonvolatilememory transistor Tm01 is connected to the switching transistor Ts01,and the other thereof is connected to the source line SL0.

In the case where both the switching transistor Ts and the nonvolatilememory transistor Tm (hereinafter also referred to as a “memorytransistor Tm”) are n-channel transistors, providing that the potentialof the second word line WL11 and the bit line BL1 is set at a high level(hereinafter referred to as an “H level”) and the potential of the bitline BL0 is set at a low level (hereinafter referred to as an “L level”)to write data in the memory cell MC specified by the bit line BL0 andthe first word line WL1, high voltage is applied to the second word lineWL11. Accordingly, charge is injected in a charge storage layer of thenonvolatile memory transistor Tm01. To erase data from the nonvolatilememory transistor Tm01, the potential of the first word line WL1 and thebit line BL0 is set at an H level and high voltage of negative polarityis applied to the second word line WL11.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram showing another structural example of thememory cell array 52. In FIG. 20, the memory cell MC differs from thatof FIG. 19 in that the switching transistor Ts is not provided and thatone of a source and a drain of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm iselectrically connected to the bit line BL without through a switchingelement. Accordingly, in the memory cell array 52 of FIG. 20, the secondword lines WL11, WL22, and WL33 are not provided.

In the case where the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm is an n-channeltransistor, an example of writing of data to the memory cell MCspecified by the bit line BL0 and the first word line WL1 is as follows.Providing that the potential of a source line SL is set at L level(e.g., 0 V), high voltage is applied to the first word line WL, and apotential corresponding to data “0” or data “1” is given to the bit lineBL. For example, the potential of the bit line BL is set at potentialsof an H level and an L level for the data “0” and the data “1”,respectively. In a drain of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm01 towhich an H level potential has been given, in order to write data “0”,hot electrons are generated near the drain and the hot electrons areinjected into a charge storage layer. That is, electrons are injectedinto the charge storage layer by F-N tunneling current. In the case ofwriting the data “1”, such electron injection does not occur.

In the memory cell MC to which data “0” has been given, hot electronsare generated near the drain by a high lateral electric field betweenthe drain and the source, and the hot electrons are injected into thecharge storage layer. A state in which threshold voltage is high by theinjection of electrons into the charge storage layer is “0”. In the casewhere data “1” has been given, hot electrons are not generated, and astate in which electrons are not injected into the charge storage layerand threshold voltage is low is kept. That is, an erasing state is kept.

When the data is erased, the potential of the source line SL0 is set ata high potential of positive polarity (e.g., a positive potential ofapproximately 10 V) and the bit line BL0 is made to be in a floatingstate. Then, the potential of the first word line WL1 is set at a highpotential of negative polarity. Thus, electrons are extracted from thecharge storage layer of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm01 to asemiconductor region. Accordingly, an erasing state of data “1” isobtained.

For example, data is read in the following manner. Providing that thepotential of the source line SL0 is set at 0 V and the potential of thebit line BL0 is set at approximately 0.8 V, a reading potential set atan intermediate value of threshold voltages corresponding to the data“0” and the data “1” are given to the potential of the first word lineWL1. At this time, the sense amplifier 66 connected to the bit line BL0judges whether or not current flows from the nonvolatile memorytransistor Tm to the bit line BL0.

FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram showing another structural example of thememory cell array 52. FIG. 21 shows an equivalent circuit in which thememory cell MC is a NAND type memory cell. A block BLK1 includes aplurality of NAND cells. The block BLK1 shown in FIG. 21 has 32 wordlines (word lines WL0 to WL31). The memory cell MC is formed of aplurality of nonvolatile memory transistors Tms connected in series.

In one memory cell MC specified by the bit line BL0, gates ofnonvolatile memory transistors Tm0 to Tm31 are connected to the firstdistinct word lines WL0 to WL31, respectively. One of a source and adrain of the first-row nonvolatile memory transistor Tm0 is connected toa first selection transistor S1, and one of a source and a drain of the32^(nd)-row nonvolatile memory transistor Tm31 is connected to a secondselection transistor S2. The first selection transistor S1 is connectedto a first selection gate line SG1 and the bit line BL0, and the secondselection transistor S2 is connected to a second selection gate line SG2and the bit line BL0.

Here, providing that the nonvolatile memory transistors Tm0 to Tm31, thefirst selection transistor S1, and the second selection transistor S2are n-channel transistors, the writing operation and the erasingoperation are described. In a NAND type memory cell, after the memorycell MC is made in an erasing state, the writing operation is performed.The erasing state is a state in which threshold voltage of each of thememory transistors Tm0 to Tm31 of the memory cell MC is a negativevoltage.

FIG. 22A is a circuit diagram describing an example of operation towrite “0” in the memory transistor Tm0 shown in FIG. 21, and FIG. 22B isa circuit diagram describing an example of operation to write “1”. Towrite “0”, for example, 0 V (ground voltage) is applied to the bit lineBL0 and Vcc (a power supply potential) is applied to the secondselection gate line SG2 to turn the second selection transistor S2 on.Meanwhile, 0 V is applied to the first selection gate line SG1 to turnthe first selection transistor S1 off. Next, the potential of the wordline WL0 is set at a high potential Vpgm (approximately 20 V), andpotentials of the other word lines are set at an intermediate potentialVpass (approximately 10 V). Since the potential of the bit line BL0 is 0V, the potential of a channel formation region of the selected memorycell M0 becomes 0 V. A potential difference between the word line WL0and the channel formation region is large; therefore, electrons areinjected into a charge storage layer of the nonvolatile memorytransistor Tm0 by F-N tunneling current. Consequently, the thresholdvoltage of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm0 has positive polarityso that a state where “0” has been written is obtained.

In the case where “1” is written to the nonvolatile memory transistorTm0, as shown in FIG. 22B, the potential of the bit line BL0 is set at apower supply potential Vcc, for example. Since the potential of thesecond selection gate line SG2 is Vcc, the second selection transistorS2 is cut off. Therefore, a channel formation region of the nonvolatilememory transistor Tm0 is made in a floating state. Next, the potentialof the word line WL0 is set at a writing potential Vpgm (20 V) that is ahigh potential of positive polarity and potentials of the other wordlines WLs are set at an intermediate potential Vpass (10 V). Voltage ofa channel formation region is higher than (Vcc-Vth) and becomes, forexample, approximately 8 V, due to capacitance coupling of each of theword lines WL0 to WL31 and the channel formation region. Therefore, apotential difference between the word line WL0 and the channel formationregion is small. Therefore, electron injection into a floating gate ofthe memory transistor Tm0 by F-N tunneling current does not occur.Accordingly, the threshold voltage of the nonvolatile memory transistorTm0 has negative polarity so that a state where “1” has been written isobtained.

FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram describing an example of the erasingoperation. In the memory cell array 52 of FIG. 21, data of a pluralityof nonvolatile memory transistors Tms included in the same block BLK1 iserased at the same time. As shown in FIG. 23, when potentials of all theword lines WL0 to WL31 of the selected block is set at 0 V and thep-well potential of a semiconductor substrate is set at an erasingpotential Vers which is a high potential of negative polarity, the bitline BL and the source line SL are in a floating state. Accordingly,electrons are discharged from a charge storage layer of all the memorytransistors Tms included in the block BLK1 to a semiconductor substrateby tunneling current, and threshold voltage of the memory transistor Tmshifts to a negative direction.

FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram describing an example of the readingoperation to read data from the memory transistor Tm0 of FIG. 21. In thereading operation, the potential of the first word line WL0 is set at areading potential Vr (e.g., 0 V), and the word lines WL1 to WL31 of anunselected memory cell and the selection gate lines SG1 and SG2 are setat an intermediate potential Vread for reading which is a little higherthan a power supply potential Vcc. As a result of this, the memorytransistors Tm1 to Tm31 other than the memory transistor Tm0 function astransfer transistors, and current flowing to the bit line BL0 isdetected in the sense amplifier 66 shown in FIG. 18 so that whethercurrent flows to the memory transistor Tm0 can be detected. In the casewhere data stored in the memory transistor Tm0 is “0”, the memorytransistor Tm0 is in an off state; therefore, current does not flow tothe bit line BL0. Meanwhile, in the case where data stored in the memorytransistor Tm0 is “1”, the memory transistor Tm0 is in an on state;therefore, current flows to the bit line BL0.

The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of this embodiment modeincludes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element whose chargeretention characteristic is improved so that reliability of memoryperformance can be improved.

Embodiment Mode 3

In this embodiment mode, as a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice, a method for manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice will be described. In the nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice, since a transistor of a memory cell array requires a higherdrive voltage than a transistor of a logic portion, it is preferablethat structures of the transistor of the memory cell array and thetransistor of the logic portion be changed in accordance with drivevoltage. For example, in the case where driving voltage is low andvariation of a threshold voltage are desired to be small, it ispreferable that a gate insulating film be thin. In the case wheredriving voltage is high and a gate insulating film having high withstandvoltage is required, it is preferable that the gate insulating film bethick.

Thus, in this embodiment mode, a method for manufacturing transistors inwhich a gate insulating film having different thicknesses is formed overthe same substrate will be described. In addition, in this embodimentmode, a method for manufacturing a transistor and a nonvolatile memorytransistor using thin film transistors will be described. Further, inthis embodiment mode, a method for manufacturing a nonvolatilesemiconductor device will be described using the device of FIG. 18 as anonvolatile semiconductor memory device and the case where the memorycell array 52 is formed using the circuit shown in FIG. 19 as examples.This point is similar to nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices to bedescribed later in Embodiment Modes 4 to 8.

FIGS. 25A to 25C, 26A to 26C, 27A to 27C, and 28A and 28B arecross-sectional views for description of a manufacturing process of thisembodiment mode. In FIGS. 25A to 25C, 26A to 26C, 27A to 27C, and 28Aand 28B, a cross section of a p-channel transistor Trp provided in thelogic portion 54 is shown between A and B, and a cross section of ann-channel transistor Tm provided in the logic portion 54 is shownbetween C and D. A cross section of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tmprovided in the memory cell MC is shown between E and F, and a crosssection of the switching transistor Ts of the memory cell MC is shownbetween G and H. FIGS. 29 to 31 are top views for description of themanufacturing process of this embodiment mode. Cross-sectional viewstaken along dashed lines A-B, C-D, E-F and G-H of FIG. 29 to FIG. 31correspond to FIGS. 25A to 25C, 26A to 26C, 27A to 27C, and 28A and 28B.

First, as shown in FIG. 25A, a base insulating film 102 is formed over asubstrate 100. For the substrate 100, a glass substrate, a quartzsubstrate, a ceramic substrate, or a metal substrate (e.g., a stainlesssteel substrate) can be used. The base insulating film 102 can be formedusing an insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, orsilicon oxynitride by a CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like.For example, in the case where the base insulating film 102 is formed ofa two-layered structure, a silicon oxynitride layer (SiO_(x)N_(y), wherex<y) whose nitrogen concentration is higher than oxygen concentrationmay be formed as a first insulating layer and a silicon oxynitride layer(SiO_(x)N_(y), where x>y) whose oxygen concentration is higher thannitrogen concentration may be formed as a second insulating layer.Alternatively, a silicon nitride layer may be formed as the firstinsulating layer and a silicon oxide layer may be formed as the secondinsulating layer. In this manner, the formation of the base insulatingfilm 102 which serves as a blocking layer makes it possible to preventan alkali metal such as Na or an alkaline earth metal from the substrate100 from having an adverse effect on an element to be formed over thebase insulating film 102.

Next, island-shaped semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 areformed over the base insulating film 102. FIG. 29 is a top view of theisland-shaped semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110. Theisland-shaped semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 can be formedas follows. An amorphous semiconductor film which contains silicon (Si)as its main component is formed by a sputtering method, an LPCVD method,a plasma CVD method, or the like, and the amorphous semiconductor filmis crystallized to form a crystalline semiconductor film. Thecrystalline semiconductor film is etched to form the island-shapedsemiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110. Note that, as the amorphoussemiconductor film, an amorphous silicon film, an amorphous germaniumfilm, an amorphous silicon germanium film, or the like can be formed.Further, crystallization of the amorphous semiconductor film can beperformed by a laser crystallization method, a thermal crystallizationmethod using RTA or an annealing furnace, a thermal crystallizationmethod using a metal element that promotes crystallization, a method inwhich any of these methods are combined, or the like.

As the substrate 100, an SOI substrate can be used. In this case, asemiconductor layer of the SOI substrate is etched so that theisland-shaped semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 can be formed.Alternatively, part of a semiconductor layer is oxidized so that aregion that is not oxidized can be used as the island-shapedsemiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110. Instead of the SOIsubstrate, a GOI substrate or an SGOI substrate can be used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 25A, an insulating film 112 is formed to coverthe island-shaped semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110. Theinsulating film 112 is formed of a single-layer film or a multilayerfilm having two or more layers using silicon oxide, silicon nitride, orsilicon oxynitride by an LPCVD method or a plasma CVD method. Theinsulating film 112 functions as a gate insulating film of thetransistor Ts of the memory cell MC. Therefore, the insulating film 112is formed at a thickness of 10 nm to 50 nm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 25B, the insulating film 112 is selectivelyremoved, and the surfaces of the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108are exposed. Here, the semiconductor film 110 provided in a memoryportion is selectively covered by a resist 114, and the insulating film112 formed over the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 are etched andremoved.

The resist 114 is removed, and insulating films 116, 118, and 120 areformed over the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 respectively, asshown in FIG. 25C. The insulating film 120 forms a first insulating filmof the memory transistor Tm. The thickness of each of the insulatingfilms 116, 118, and 120 is preferably 1 nm to 10 nm, more preferably, 1nm to 5 nm. Note that the insulating films 116 and 118 are removed in alater step.

The insulating films 116, 118, and 120 can be formed in such a way thatthe semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 are subjected to heattreatment, high density plasma treatment, or the like. For example, in asimilar manner to the first insulating film 11 of the nonvolatile memorytransistor in FIG. 2, the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 aresubjected to oxidation treatment, nitridation treatment, oroxynitridation treatment by high density plasma treatment so that theinsulating films 116, 118, and 120 formed of oxide, nitride, oroxynitride of a semiconductor are formed. In the case where thesemiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 are formed of silicon films, wheneach of the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 is subjected tooxidation treatment by high density plasma treatment, a silicon oxidelayer can be formed; when each of the semiconductor films 104, 106, and108 is subjected to nitridation treatment by high density plasmatreatment, a silicon nitride layer can be formed; and when each of thesemiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 is subjected to oxynitridationtreatment by high density plasma treatment, a silicon oxynitride layercan be formed. In addition, after oxidation treatment is performed toform a silicon oxide layer, nitridation treatment can also be performed.In this case, nitridation treatment time or the like is regulated sothat a silicon oxide layer which has a nitrided surface, a siliconoxynitride layer, or a silicon nitride layer can be formed.

First, here, a mixed gas of oxygen (O₂) and argon (Ar) is introducedinto a reaction chamber, an oxygen radical is generated by high densityplasma, and oxidation treatment is performed on the semiconductor films104, 106, and 108; accordingly, silicon oxide layers having a thicknessof approximately 3 nm to 6 nm are formed on the surfaces of thesemiconductor films 104, 106, and 108. As the flow rate of a processgas, the flow rate of oxygen can be set at 0.1 sccm to 100 sccm and theflow rate of argon can be set at 100 sccm to 5000 sccm.

Next, a mixed gas of nitrogen (N₂) and argon (Ar) is introduced into thereaction chamber where the oxidation treatment has been performed, anitrogen radical is generated by high density plasma, and the siliconoxide layers are subjected to nitridation treatment. For example,nitridation treatment time is regulated so that each silicon oxide layercan be provided with a layer which has a nitrogen concentration of 20at. % to 50 at. % and a thickness of approximately 1 nm. At this time,the surface of the insulating film 112 formed over the semiconductorfilm 110 may be oxidized or nitrided, and a silicon oxynitride layer maybe formed in some cases. As the flow rate of a process gas, the flowrate of nitrogen can be set at 20 sccm to 2000 sccm and the flow rate ofargon can be set at 100 sccm to 10000 sccm.

Next, as shown in FIG. 26A, a first silicon nitride film 122 and asecond silicon nitride film 123 which serve as a charge storage layerare formed to cover the insulating films 112, 116, 118, and 120. Thefirst silicon nitride film 122 can be formed in a similar manner to thatof the first silicon nitride film 12 of Embodiment Mode 1, and thesecond silicon nitride film 123 can be formed in a similar manner tothat of the second silicon nitride film 13 of Embodiment Mode 1. Forexample, NH₃ and SiH₄ are introduced into a reaction chamber of a plasmaCVD apparatus, and the first silicon nitride film 122 is formed at asubstrate temperature of 400° C. N₂, SiH₄, and Ar are introduced intothe same reaction chamber, and the second silicon nitride film 123 isformed at a substrate temperature of 400° C.

Next, as shown in FIG. 26B, a resist 124 is formed, the insulating films116 and 118, and part of the first silicon nitride film 122 and part ofthe second silicon nitride film 123 are removed by etching. Top surfacesof the semiconductor films 104 and 106, and a top surface of theinsulating film 120 over the semiconductor film 108 are exposed, and thefirst silicon nitride film 122 and the second silicon nitride film 123are left over the semiconductor film 108 to serve as the memorytransistor Tm.

The resist 124 is removed, and an insulating film 128 is formed over thesubstrate 100 as shown in FIG. 26C. The insulating film 128 forms a gateinsulating film of the transistors Trp and Trn of the logic portion 54and forms the second insulating film of the memory transistor Tm. Theinsulating film 128 is formed by depositing an insulating materialformed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or thelike by a CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like. The insulatingfilm 128 is formed of a single-layer film or a multiple-layer filmhaving two or more layers. For example, in the case where the insulatingfilm 128 is formed of a single layer, a silicon oxynitride layer isformed at a thickness of 5 nm to 50 nm by a CVD method. In addition, inthe case where the insulating film 128 is formed of a three-layeredstructure, a silicon oxynitride layer is formed as a first insulatinglayer, a silicon nitride layer is formed as a second insulating layer,and a silicon oxynitride layer is formed as a third insulating layer.

Next, as shown in FIG. 27A, a conductive film 130 is formed over theinsulating film 128, and a conductive film 132 is formed over theconductive film 130. A stacked film formed of the conductive film 130and the conductive film 132 forms gate electrodes of the transistorsTrp, Trn, and Ts and the memory transistor Tm. Needless to say, the gateelectrodes can be formed of a conductive film having a single-layerstructure.

Note that, when the memory transistor Tm is an MNOS type, before thestep for forming the conductive film 130, the insulating film 128 isremoved by etching from a region in which the memory transistor Tm isformed.

The conductive films 130 and 132 can have a single-layer structure or amultilayer structure of two or more layers. As a conductive materialthat forms the conductive films 130 and 132, a single metal selectedfrom tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo),aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), niobium (Nb), and the like;an alloy material or compound material containing any of these metals asits main component; polycrystalline silicon doped with an impurityelement such as phosphorus; or the like can be used. For example, as ametal compound, there are metal nitride, silicide, and the like.

For example, the conductive film 130 is formed of a tantalum nitridefilm and the conductive film 132 is formed of a tungsten film.Alternatively, the conductive film 130 can be formed of a single-layerfilm or a stacked-layer film using a conductive material selected fromtungsten nitride, molybdenum nitride, and titanium nitride; and theconductive film 132 can be formed of a single-layer film or astacked-layer film using a conductive material selected from tantalum,molybdenum, and titanium.

Next, as shown in FIG. 27B, the stacked film formed of the conductivefilms 130 and 132 is etched to form conductive films 134, 136, 138, and140 which overlap with the semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110,respectively. The top view in this state is shown in FIG. 30. Theconductive films 134 and 136 function as the gate electrodes of thetransistors Trp and Trn, respectively. The conductive film 138 forms thesecond word line WL and functions as the gate electrode of the switchingtransistor Ts. The conductive film 140 forms the first word line WL andfunctions as the gate electrode of the switching transistor Ts.

Then, as shown in FIG. 27C, a resist 142 is selectively formed to coverthe semiconductor film 104. The conductive films 136, 138, and 140 areused as masks, and the semiconductor films 106, 108, and 110 are dopedwith an impurity element which imparts n-type conductivity to formn-type high concentration impurity regions 146, 150, and 154,respectively. The high concentration impurity regions 146, 150, and 154form source regions and drain regions. By the addition of this impuritywhich imparts n-type conductivity, channel formation regions 144, 148,and 152 are formed in a self-aligned manner in the semiconductor films106, 108, and 110, respectively.

The resist 142 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 28A, a resist 156 tocover the semiconductor films 106, 108, and 110 is formed. Theconductive film 134 is used as a mask, and the semiconductor film 104 isdoped with an impurity which imparts p-type conductivity to form p-typehigh concentration impurity regions 160. The high concentration impurityregions 160 form a source region and a drain region. By addition of thisimpurity which imparts p-type conductivity, a channel formation region158 is formed in a self-aligned manner in the semiconductor film 104.

The resist 156 is removed. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 28B, aninsulating film 162 is formed to cover the conductive films 134, 136,138, and 140. Openings to reach the high concentration impurity regions160, 146, 150, and 154 are formed in the insulating film 162. Conductivefilms 164 to 170 which are electrically connected to the highconcentration impurity regions 160, 146, 150, and 154 that are formed inthe semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 are formed over theinsulating film 162. A top view of this state is shown in FIG. 31. Theconductive film 164 and the conductive film 165 form source electrodesand drain electrodes of the p-channel transistor Trp. The conductivefilm 166 and the conductive film 167 form source electrodes and drainelectrodes of the n-channel transistor Trn. The conductive film 168forms an electrode which connects the switching transistor Ts and thememory transistor Tm. The conductive film 169 forms the bit line BL. Theconductive film 170 forms the source line SL.

The insulating film 162 can be formed of a single-layer structure or astacked-layer structure. As an insulating film which forms theinsulating film 162, an inorganic insulating film that contains siliconoxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or DLC (diamond-like carbon)can be formed by a CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like. Inaddition, a film formed of an organic material such as epoxy, polyimide,polyamide, polyvinyl phenol, benzocyclobutene, or acrylic; or a filmformed of a siloxane material such as a siloxane resin can be used.

The conductive film 164 can be formed of a single-layer structure or astacked-layer structure. The conductive film 164 is formed of, by a CVDmethod, a sputtering method, or the like, a conductive material such asa single metal element selected from aluminum (Al), tungsten (W),titanium (Ti), tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), platinum(Pt), copper (Cu), gold (Au), silver (Ag), manganese (Mn), and neodymium(Nd); or an alloy material or compound material containing any of theseelements as its main component. For example, as an alloy material thatcontains aluminum as its main component, an alloy of aluminum andnickel; an aluminum alloy containing nickel, and one or both of carbonand silicon; and the like are given. Since aluminum or aluminum siliconhas a low resistance value and is inexpensive, aluminum or aluminumsilicon is suitable for the material for forming the conductive film164.

For example, as the conductive film 164 having a three-layer structure,there are a stacked film including a barrier layer, an aluminum silicon(Al—Si) layer, and a barrier layer; a stacked film including a barrierlayer, an aluminum silicon (Al—Si) layer, a titanium nitride layer, anda barrier layer; and the like. Note that the barrier layer is formedusing a thin film formed of titanium, nitride of titanium, molybdenum,or nitride of molybdenum. When the barrier layers are provided for anupper layer and a lower layer, generation of hillock of aluminum oraluminum silicon can be prevented. In addition, when the barrier layerformed of titanium that has a high reducing property is used, even whena thin oxide film is naturally formed over a crystalline semiconductorlayer, the barrier layer reduces this oxide film, and accordingly,favorable contact with the crystalline semiconductor layer can beobtained.

By the above-described steps, a nonvolatile semiconductor device inwhich the memory cell array 52 and the logic portion 54 are integratedover the same substrate 100 can be formed.

Embodiment Mode 4

In Embodiment Mode 3, a manufacturing method is described, in which theinsulating layer which serves as the control insulating film of thenonvolatile memory element formed in the memory cell MC and the gateinsulating film of the thin film transistor formed in the logic portionare formed at the same time; however, a method for manufacturing anonvolatile semiconductor memory device is not limited thereto. Forexample, the formation as shown in FIGS. 32 to 32C can also be employed.

First, a process up to and including FIG. 26A is performed by themanufacturing method of Embodiment Mode 3. As shown in FIG. 32A, aftersimilar formation, the insulating film 128 is formed over the firstsilicon nitride film 122 and the second silicon nitride film 123.

Next, as shown in FIG. 32B, the resist 124 is selectively formed tocover the semiconductor film 108, and then, the first silicon nitridefilm 122, the second silicon nitride film 123, and the insulating film128 which are fowled over the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 110 areremoved, and the semiconductor films 104 and 106 and the insulating film112 are exposed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 32C, the insulating films 116 and 118 are formedon the surfaces of the semiconductor films 104 and 106 by high densityplasma treatment similarly to Embodiment Mode 3. As a result, the gateinsulating film of the transistors Trp and Tm formed in the logicportion 54 and the second insulating film of the nonvolatile memorytransistor Tm formed in the memory cell MC can be formed at differentthicknesses and of different materials.

A process including and after FIG. 27A of Embodiment Mode 3 is performedso that a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device can be formed.

Embodiment Mode 5

In this embodiment mode, a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice will be described. In this embodiment mode, a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device will bedescribed similarly to Embodiment Modes 3 and 4.

FIGS. 33A to 33C, FIGS. 34A to 34C, and FIGS. 35A to 35C arecross-sectional views showing a manufacturing method of this embodimentmode. Similarly to Embodiment Mode 3, the transistors Trp and Trn in thelogic portion 54 and the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm and theswitching transistor Ts in the memory cell array 52 are shown in thecross-sectional views. In this embodiment mode, the memory cell array 52is formed of the circuit shown in FIG. 19, similarly to Embodiment Mode3. Note that, in a manufacturing method in this embodiment mode, theprocess of Embodiment Mode 3 can be applied to a process to formcomponents with the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 25A to25C, 26A to 26C, 27A to 27C, and 28A and 28B; therefore, description ofEmbodiment Mode 3 is used for detailed description of these.

First, a process up to and including FIG. 25A described in EmbodimentMode 3 is performed. Next, the resist 114 is formed over the insulatingfilm 112. The resist 114 is used, and the insulating film 112 in aregion which is not covered by the resist 114 is removed by etching (seeFIG. 33A).

By this etching, edges of the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 arecovered by the insulating film 112. This structure is provided in orderto prevent a depression from being formed in the base insulating film102 in a portion where the edges of each of the semiconductor films 104,106, and 108 are in contact with the base insulating film 102, in thecase where the entire insulating film 112 formed over each of thesemiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 is removed by etching. In the casewhere a depression is formed in the base insulating film 102, a problemsuch as a coverage defect occurs in the case of forming the insulatinglayer or the like for covering the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108thereafter. To avoid such a problem, it is effective to cover the edgesof each of the semiconductor films 104, 106, and 108 with the insulatingfilm 112.

The resist 114 is removed. As shown in FIG. 33B, the insulating films116, 118, and 120 are formed over the semiconductor films 104, 106, and108, respectively, by high density plasma treatment, similarly toEmbodiment Mode 3. Next, as shown in FIG. 33C, the first silicon nitridefilm 122 and the second silicon nitride film 123 are formed similarly toEmbodiment Mode 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 34A, the semiconductor film 108 and thesemiconductor film 110 are covered by a resist 126, and the firstsilicon nitride film 122 and the second silicon nitride film 123 whichare formed in a region that is not covered by the resist 126 are removedby etching. The resist 126 is removed, and the insulating film 128 isformed as shown in FIG. 34B. A method for forming the insulating film128 can be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 3. Forexample, a silicon oxynitride layer is formed at a thickness of 5 nm to50 nm by a plasma CVD method as the insulating film 128.

Next, as shown in FIG. 34C, the conductive films 134, 136, 138, and 140each of which serves as a gate electrode are formed over thesemiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110, respectively. Note that theconductive film 138 formed over the semiconductor film 108 provided inthe memory portion forms the second word line WL and serves as a controlgate in the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm. In addition, theconductive films 134 and 136 serve as the gate electrodes of thetransistors Trp and Trn, respectively. The conductive film 140 forms thefirst word line WL and serves as the gate electrode of the switchingtransistor Ts.

Note that, when the memory transistor Tm is an MNOS type, before aprocess in which the conductive films 134, 136, 138, and 140 are formed,the insulating film 128 is removed by etching from the region in whichthe memory transistor Tm is formed.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 35A, the resist 142 is selectively formedto cover the semiconductor film 104, and the resist 142 and theconductive films 136, 138, and 140 are used as masks so that thesemiconductor films 106, 108, and 110 are doped with an impurity elementwhich imparts n-type conductivity. By this doping step of the impurityelement which imparts n-type conductivity, the high concentrationimpurity regions 146, 150, and 154, and the channel formation regions144, 148, and 152 are formed in a self-aligned manner in thesemiconductor films 106, 108, and 110, respectively.

The resist 142 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 35B, the resist 156 tocover the semiconductor films 106, 108, and 110 is formed. Theconductive film 134 is used as a mask, and an impurity element whichimparts p-type conductivity is introduced into the semiconductor film104 so that the high concentration impurity regions 160 and the channelformation region 158 are formed in a self-aligned manner in thesemiconductor film 104.

The resist 156 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 35C, the insulatingfilm 162 to cover the conductive films 134, 136, 138, and 140 is formed,and openings which reach the high concentration impurity regions 160,146, 150, and 154 are formed, respectively. The conductive films 164 to170 which are electrically connected to the high concentration impurityregions 160, 146, 150, and 154 in the semiconductor films 104, 106, 108,and 110 are formed over the insulating film 162. Through theabove-described process, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device inwhich the memory cell array 52 and the logic portion 54 are integratedover the same substrate 100 is formed.

Embodiment Mode 6

In this embodiment mode, a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice will be described. In this embodiment mode, a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device will bedescribed similarly to Embodiment Modes 3 to 5.

FIGS. 36A to 36C, FIGS. 37A to 37C, and FIGS. 38A to 38C arecross-sectional views each showing a manufacturing method of thisembodiment mode. Similarly to Embodiment Mode 3, the transistors Trp andTrn in the logic portion 54 and the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm andthe switching transistor Ts in the memory cell array 52 are shown in thecross-sectional views. In this embodiment mode, the memory cell array 52is formed of the circuit shown in FIG. 19, similarly to Embodiment Mode3. In addition, in a manufacturing method in this embodiment mode, theprocess of Embodiment Mode 3 can be applied to a process to formcomponents with the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 25A to25C, 26A to 26C, 27A to 27C, and 28A and 28B; therefore, description ofEmbodiment Mode 3 is used for detailed description of these.

First, as shown in FIG. 36A, the base insulating film 102 is formed overthe substrate 100, a semiconductor film 103 is formed over the baseinsulating film 102, and the insulating film 112 is formed over thesemiconductor film 103.

As a method for forming the semiconductor film 103, the following methodcan be used. An amorphous semiconductor film farmed of silicon, silicongermanium, or germanium is formed by a sputtering method, an LPCVDmethod, a plasma CVD method, or the like, and the amorphoussemiconductor film is crystallized to form a crystalline semiconductorfilm Crystallization of the amorphous semiconductor film can beperformed by a laser crystallization method, a thermal crystallizationmethod using RTA or an annealing furnace, a thermal crystallizationmethod using a metal element that promotes crystallization, a method inwhich any of these methods are combined, or the like.

Next, the resist 114 is formed over the insulating film 112. As shown inFIG. 36B, the resist 114 is used as a mask and the insulating film 112is etched. As shown in FIG. 36C, the resist 114 is removed, and theexposed semiconductor film 103 is subjected to high density plasmatreatment to form an insulating film 115. The insulating film 115 can beformed by a method similar to that of the insulating films 116 and 118of Embodiment Mode 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 37A, the first silicon nitride film 122 is formedover the insulating films 115 and 112, and the second silicon nitridefilm 123 is formed over the first silicon nitride film 122.

Next, a resist 125 is formed. The resist 125 is used as a mask, and theinsulating film 115, the first silicon nitride film 122, and the secondsilicon nitride film 123 are etched as shown in FIG. 37B. The firstsilicon nitride film 122 and the second silicon nitride film 123 betweenG and H function as the gate insulating film of the switchingtransistor. The first silicon nitride film 122 and the second siliconnitride film 123 between G and H can be removed as well.

The resist 125 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 37C, a resist mask isused, and the semiconductor film 103 is etched to form the island-shapedsemiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 (see FIG. 37C).

Next, as shown in FIG. 38A, the insulating film 128 which covers thesemiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110 is formed. Next, as shown inFIG. 38B, the conductive films 134, 136, 138, and 140 which each serveas a gate electrode are formed over the semiconductor films 104, 106,108, and 110, respectively.

Note that, when the memory transistor Tm is an MNOS type, before aprocess in which the conductive films 134, 136, 138, and 140 are formed,the insulating film 128 is removed by etching from the region in whichthe memory transistor Tm is formed.

Next, processes of FIG. 27C and FIG. 28A of Embodiment Mode 3 areperformed; as shown in FIG. 38C, the channel formation regions 158, 144,148, and 152 and the high concentration impurity regions 160, 146, 150,and 154 are formed in the semiconductor films 104, 106, 108, and 110,respectively. Next, the insulating film 162 is formed to form openingswhich reach the high concentration impurity regions 160, 146, 150, and154 in the insulating film 162. Next, the conductive films 164 to 170which are electrically connected to the high concentration impurityregions 160, 146, 150, and 154 formed in the semiconductor films 104,106, 108, and 110 are formed over the insulating film 162.

Through the above-described process, a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice in which the memory cell array 52 and the logic portion 54 areintegrated over the same substrate 100 is formed.

Embodiment Mode 7

In this embodiment mode, as a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice, a method for manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice using a semiconductor substrate will be described.

FIGS. 39A to 39C, 40A to 40C, 41A to 41C, 42A to 42C, and 43A to 43C arecross-sectional views for description of a manufacturing process of anonvolatile semiconductor memory device of this embodiment mode. In thisembodiment mode, the memory cell array 52 is formed of a NAND typememory cell as shown in FIG. 21. In each of FIGS. 39A to 39C, 40A to40C, 41A to 41C, 42A to 42C, and 43A to 43C, a cross section of thep-channel transistor Trp and the n-channel transistor Trn which areprovided in the logic portion 54 is shown between A and B. A crosssection of the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm and the second selectiontransistor S2 which are provided in the memory cell array 52 is shownbetween C and D. FIGS. 44A and 44B, 45A and 45B, and 46A and 46B are topviews for description of a manufacturing process of this embodimentmode. Cross-sectional views taken along dashed lines A-B and C-D ofFIGS. 44A and 44B, 45A and 45B, and 46A and 46B correspond to FIGS. 39Ato 39C, 40A to 40C, 41A to 41C, 42A to 42C, and 43A to 43C.

First, as shown in FIG. 39A, a semiconductor substrate 1200 is prepared.A single-crystal Si wafer having n-type conductivity is used for thesemiconductor substrate 1200. An insulating film 1201 is formed over thesemiconductor substrate 1200. As a method for forming the insulatingfilm 1201, a method in which the surface of the semiconductor substrate1200 is oxidized by thermal oxidation treatment to form silicon oxidecan be used. A silicon nitride film 1202 is formed over the insulatingfilm 1201 by a CVD method. In addition, the silicon nitride film 1202can be formed in such a way that the insulating film 1201 is formed, andthen the insulating film 1201 is nitrided by high density plasmatreatment.

Next, as shown in FIG. 39B, a pattern of a resist 1203 is formed overthe silicon nitride film 1202. The resist 1203 is used as a mask, andthe silicon nitride film 1202, the insulating film 1201, and thesemiconductor substrate 1200 are etched so that a depression 1204 isformed in the semiconductor substrate 1200. This etching can beperformed by dry etching using plasma.

The resist 1203 is removed. Next, as shown in FIG. 39C, an insulatingfilm 1205 which fills the depression 1204 formed in the semiconductorsubstrate 1200 is formed. The insulating film 1205 is formed using aninsulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconnitride that contains oxygen, or silicon oxide that contains nitrogen bya CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like. Here, as the insulatingfilm 1205, silicon oxide is formed using a TEOS(tetraethylorthosilicate) gas by an atmospheric-pressure CVD method or alow-pressure CVD method.

Next, a grinding process, a polishing process, or chemical mechanicalpolishing (CMP) process is performed so that the insulating film 1205,the silicon nitride film 1202, and the insulating film 1201 are removedas shown in FIG. 40A, whereby the surface of the semiconductor substrate1200 is exposed. By this treatment, semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209are provided between the insulating films 1205 left in the depression1204 of the semiconductor substrate 1200. Next, the semiconductorsubstrate 1200 is selectively doped with an impurity element whichimparts p-type conductivity to form a p-well 1210. A top view of thisstate is shown in FIGS. 44A and 44B.

Note that, in this embodiment mode, a semiconductor substrate havingn-type conductivity is used as the semiconductor substrate 1200;therefore, introduction of an impurity element into the semiconductorregion 1207 is not performed. However, an impurity element which impartsn-type conductivity is introduced so that an n-well can be formed in thesemiconductor region 1207. Note that, in the case where a p-typesemiconductor substrate is used, an n-well is formed so that thesemiconductor region 1207 is formed. The semiconductor regions 1208 and1209 may be formed of p-wells but is not necessarily formed of p-wells.

Next, as shown in FIG. 40B, an insulating film 1211 is formed over thesurface of the semiconductor substrate 1200. The insulating film 1211can be formed in a similar manner to the insulating film 112 ofEmbodiment Mode 3. Here, as the insulating film 1211, a siliconoxynitride film is formed by a plasma CVD method. Note that theinsulating film 1211 formed over the semiconductor region 1209 forms thegate insulating film of the switching transistor Ts.

Next, as shown in FIG. 40C, a resist 1212 is formed. By use of theresist 1212, the insulating film 1211 formed over the semiconductorregions 1207 and 1208 of the semiconductor substrate 1200 is removed.

After the resist 1212 is removed, an insulating film 1214 is formed overthe surface of the semiconductor region 1207 and an insulating film 1215is formed over the surface of the semiconductor region 1208, as shown inFIG. 41A. An insulating film 1216 is formed over the semiconductorregion 1209. Next, a first silicon nitride film 1012 is formed to coverthe insulating films 1214 to 1216, and a second silicon nitride film1013 is formed over the first silicon nitride film 1012.

The insulating films 1214 to 1216 can be formed in such a way that thesemiconductor substrate 1200 is oxidized by high density plasmatreatment and subjected to nitridation treatment. The high densityplasma treatment can be performed similarly to Embodiment Mode 3. Theinsulating films 1214 to 1216 can be formed by thermal oxidation orthermal nitridation, as well.

Next, as shown in FIG. 41B, a resist 1218 is formed. The resist 1218 isused as a mask, and the second silicon nitride film 1013, the firstsilicon nitride film 1012, and the insulating films 1214 to 1216 areetched. Here, the second silicon nitride film 1013, the first siliconnitride film 1012, the insulating film 1214, and the insulating film1215 are removed from the semiconductor regions 1207 and 1208. As forthe semiconductor region 1209, the second silicon nitride film 1013, thefirst silicon nitride film 1012, and the insulating film 1216 are leftin a region where the nonvolatile memory transistor Tm is formed andthese insulating films are removed from the other region.

After the resist 1218 is removed, an insulating film 1221 which coversthe semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209 is formed, as shown in FIG. 41C.The insulating film 1211 may be formed of a single-layer film or astacked film. An insulating film which forms the insulating film 1221can be formed using an insulating material such as silicon oxide,silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride by a CVD method, a sputteringmethod, or the like. Here, as the insulating film 1221, a siliconoxynitride film is formed by a plasma CVD method by using SiH₄ and N₂Oas source materials.

Next, as shown in FIG. 42A, a conductive film 1222 is formed over theinsulating film 1221, and a conductive film 1223 is formed over theconductive film 1222. The conductive films 1222 and 1223 can be formedin a similar manner to the conductive films 130 and 132 of EmbodimentMode 3. Here, the conductive film 1222 is formed of tantalum nitride,and the conductive film 1223 is formed of tungsten.

Next, the conductive films 1222 and 1223 are etched, and conductivefilms 1224 to 1228 which each function as a gate electrode are formed,as shown in FIGS. 42B, 45A, and 45B. By this etching process, thesurface of a region which is not overlapped with the conductive films1224 to 1228 are exposed in the semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209. Theconductive film 1226 forms the second selection gate line, theconductive film 1227 forms the word line, and the conductive film 1228forms the first selection gate line.

Next, as shown in FIG. 42C, an impurity element is selectivelyintroduced into the semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209 to form lowconcentration impurity regions 1229 to 1231. The conductive films 1225to 1227 are used as masks, and an impurity which imparts n-typeconductivity is introduced into the semiconductor regions 1208 and 1209to form the n-type low concentration impurity regions 1230 and 1231. Inthe semiconductor region 1207, the conductive film 1224 is used as amask, and an impurity which imparts p-type conductivity is added to formthe p-type low concentration impurity regions 1229.

Next, spacers 1233 to 1237 (also referred to as sidewalls) that areformed of an insulating film which is in contact with side surfaces ofthe conductive films 1224 to 1228 respectively are formed (see FIGS.43A, 45A, and 45B). Specifically, an insulating film is formed of asingle-layer structure or a multilayer structure having two or morelayers formed of an inorganic material such as silicon, silicon oxide,or silicon nitride or an organic material such as an organic resin by aplasma CVD method, a sputtering method, or the like. Then, theinsulating film is etched by anisotropic etching mainly in aperpendicular direction so that the spacers 1233 to 1237 can be formedto be in contact with the side surfaces of each of the conductive films1224 to 1227.

Next, as shown in FIG. 43A, the spacers 1233 to 1237 and the conductivefilms 1224 to 1228 are used as masks, and an impurity element isintroduced into the semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209 to form highconcentration impurity regions 1238 to 1240 which function as sourceregions and drain regions. A top view of FIG. 43A corresponds to FIGS.45A and 45B.

In the semiconductor region 1207, the high concentration impurityregions 1238, low concentration impurity regions 1241 which form LDDregions, and a channel formation region 1245 are formed. In thesemiconductor region 1208, the high concentration impurity regions 1239,low concentration impurity regions 1242 which form LDD regions, and achannel formation region 1246 are formed. In the semiconductor region1209, the high concentration impurity regions 1240, low concentrationimpurity regions 1243 and 1244 which form LDD regions, and channelformation regions 1247 and 1248 are formed. The high concentrationimpurity regions 1238 to 1240 formed in the semiconductor regions 1207to 1209 form source regions and drain regions.

Note that, in this embodiment mode, an impurity element is introduced ina state that the semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209 which do not overlapwith the conductive films 1224 to 1228 are exposed. Accordingly, thechannel formation regions 1245 to 1248 formed in the semiconductorregions 1207 to 1209 can be formed in a self-aligned manner with respectto the conductive films 1224 to 1228.

Next, as shown in FIG. 43B, an insulating film 1249 is formed andopenings 1250 to 1254 are formed in the insulating film 1249. Theinsulating film 1249 can be formed in a similar manner to the insulatingfilm 162 of Embodiment Mode 3. Here, polysilazane is used.

Next, conductive films 1255 to 1259 are formed in the openings 1250 to1254, respectively, and conductive films 1260 to 1263 are selectivelyformed over the insulating film 1249 so as to be electrically connectedto the conductive films 1255 to 1259. The conductive films 1255 to 1259,and 1260 to 1263 can be formed in a similar manner to the conductivefilm 164 described in Embodiment Mode 3. In addition, the conductivefilms 1255 to 1259 can be formed in such a manner that tungsten (W) isselectively grown by a CVD method. A top view of FIG. 43C corresponds toFIGS. 46A and 46B. The conductive film 1259 and the conductive film 1263form a bit line.

Through the above-described steps, a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice can be formed in which the p-channel transistor Trp formed in thesemiconductor region 1207 of the semiconductor substrate 1200, then-channel transistor Trn formed in the semiconductor region 1208 of thesemiconductor substrate 1200, the n-channel second selection transistorS2 and the nonvolatile memory element Tm formed in the semiconductorregion 1209 of the semiconductor substrate 1200 are integrated.

Note that the depression 1204 and the insulating film 1205 are formedfor element isolation. However, instead of the depression 1204 and theinsulating film 1205, an insulating film 1290 can be formed by a LOCOS(local oxidation of silicon) method as an element isolation region, asshown in FIG. 47.

Embodiment Mode 8

In this embodiment mode, as a method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice, a method for manufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice will be described. In this embodiment mode, a method formanufacturing a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device using asemiconductor substrate will be described, similarly to Embodiment Mode7.

FIGS. 48A to 48C, and FIGS. 49A to 49C are cross-sectional views eachshowing a manufacturing method of this embodiment mode. Similarly toFIGS. 39A to 39C, 40A to 40C, 41A to 41C, 42A to 42C, and 43A to 43C,the transistors Trp and Trn in the logic portion 54 and the nonvolatilememory transistor Tm and the second selection transistor S2 in thememory cell array 52 are shown in the cross-sectional views. Note that,in this embodiment mode, the process of Embodiment Mode 7 can be appliedto a process to form components with the same reference numerals asthose in FIGS. 39A to 39C, 40A to 40C, 41A to 41C, 42A to 42C, and 43Ato 43C; therefore, description of Embodiment Mode 7 is used for detaileddescription of these.

A process from FIG. 39A to FIG. 41A described in Embodiment Mode 7 isperformed. Next, as shown in FIG. 48A, an insulating film 1271 is formedover the second silicon nitride film 1013. The insulating film 1271 canbe formed in a similar manner to the insulating film 1221 of EmbodimentMode 6.

Next, the resist 1218 is formed over the insulating film 1271. Theresist 1218 is used as a mask, and the insulating film 1271, the secondsilicon nitride film 1013, the first silicon nitride film 1012, and theinsulating films 1214 to 1216 are etched. As shown in FIG. 48B, astacked-layer film formed of the insulating film 1216, the first siliconnitride film 1012, the second silicon nitride film 1013, and theinsulating film 1271 is formed over a region where the memory transistorTm of the semiconductor region 1209 is formed. The first silicon nitridefilm 1012, the second silicon nitride film 1013, the insulating film1271, and the insulating films 1216, 1214, and 1215 are removed from theother region. The semiconductor region 1207, the semiconductor region1208, and the insulating film 1211 are exposed, and part of thesemiconductor region 1209 is exposed.

After the resist 1218 is removed, oxidation treatment or nitridationtreatment is performed on exposed portions of the semiconductor regions1207 to 1209, and as shown in FIG. 48C, insulating films 1273 to 1275are formed. The insulating films 1273 to 1275 can be formed by a methodsimilarly to that of the insulating films 1214 and 1215 of EmbodimentMode 7. The insulating films 1273 and 1274 can form the gate insulatingfilms of the transistors Trp and Trn formed in the logic portion 54. Forexample, the insulating films 1273 to 1275 can be formed in such a waythat oxidation treatment is performed to the surface of thesemiconductor substrate 1200 by high density plasma, and nitridationtreatment is performed by high density plasma in succession.

Next, as shown in FIG. 48C, the conductive film 1222 is formed over thesemiconductor substrate 1200, and the conductive film 1223 is formedover the conductive film 1222.

Subsequently, the stacked film formed of the conductive films 1222 and1223 is etched so that the conductive films 1224 to 1228 are formed (seeFIGS. 49A, 45A, and 45B). Further, the conductive films 1224 to 1227 areused as masks, and as shown in FIG. 49A, the insulating films formedbelow the conductive films 1224 to 1227 are etched.

The insulating film 1273 over the semiconductor region 1207 forms thegate insulating film of the transistor Trp. The insulating film 1274over the semiconductor region 1208 forms the gate insulating film of thetransistor Trn. The insulating film 1211 over the semiconductor region1209 forms the gate insulating film of the second selection transistorS2. The insulating film 1216 over the semiconductor region 1209 forms afirst insulating film of the memory transistor Tm. The first siliconnitride film 1012 and the second silicon nitride film 1013 form thecharge storage layer of the memory transistor Tm. The insulating film1271 forms the second insulating film of the memory transistor Tm.

Next, similarly to Embodiment Mode 7, the semiconductor regions 1207 to1209 are doped with an impurity element at a low concentration to formlow concentration impurity regions. Next, the spacers 1233 to 1237 thatare formed of an insulating film, which are in contact with sidesurfaces of the conductive films 1224 to 1228, respectively are formed.Then, the semiconductor regions 1207 to 1209 are doped with an impurityelement at a high concentration to form high concentration impurityregions.

As shown in FIG. 49B, this process is performed so that the highconcentration impurity regions 1238, the low concentration impurityregions 1241, and the channel formation region 1245 are formed in aself-aligned manner in the semiconductor region 1207. In thesemiconductor region 1208, the high concentration impurity regions 1239,the low concentration impurity regions 1242, the channel formationregion 1246 are formed in a self-aligned manner. In the semiconductorregion 1209, the high concentration impurity regions 1240, the lowconcentration impurity regions 1243 and 1244, and the channel formationregions 1247 and 1248 are formed in a self-aligned manner. A top view ofthis state is shown in FIGS. 45A and 45B.

A process similar to Embodiment Mode 7 is performed, and the insulatingfilm 1249, the conductive films 1255 to 1259, the conductive films 1260to 1263 are formed, as shown in FIG. 49C. A top view of FIG. 49C isshown in FIGS. 46A and 46B.

By the above-described process, a nonvolatile semiconductor memorydevice in which the logic portion 54 and the memory cell array 52 areintegrated over the semiconductor substrate 1200 can be obtained.

Embodiment Mode 9

In this embodiment mode, a semiconductor device capable of inputting andoutputting data without contact will be described. The nonvolatilesemiconductor memory device is used for the semiconductor device. Thesemiconductor device which is described in this embodiment mode isreferred to as an RFID tag, an ID tag, an IC tag, an IC chip, an RF tag,a wireless tag, an electronic tag, or a wireless chip depending on theusage pattern.

FIG. 50 is a block diagram showing a structural example of thesemiconductor device capable of inputting and outputting data withoutcontact. As shown in FIGS. 44A and 44B, a semiconductor device 800 has afunction of exchanging data without contact, and includes ahigh-frequency circuit 810, a power supply circuit 820, a reset circuit830, a clock generating circuit 840, a data demodulating circuit 850, adata modulating circuit 860, a control circuit 870 for controlling othercircuits included in the semiconductor device 800, a memory device 880,and an antenna 890.

The high-frequency circuit 810 receives a signal from the antenna 890and outputs a signal, which is received from the data modulating circuit860, from the antenna 890. The power supply circuit 820 generates apower supply potential from a received signal. The reset circuit 830generates a reset signal. The clock generating circuit 840 generatesvarious clock signals based on a received signal input from the antenna890. The data demodulating circuit 850 demodulates the received signaland outputs the demodulated signal to the control circuit 870. The datamodulating circuit 860 modulates a signal received from the controlcircuit 870.

As the control circuit 870, for example, a code extracting circuit 910,a code judging circuit 920, a CRC judging circuit 930, and an outputunit circuit 940 are provided. Note that the code extracting circuit 910extracts each of plural codes included in an instruction sent to thecontrol circuit 870. The code judging circuit 920 judges the content ofthe instruction by comparing the extracted code with a codecorresponding to a reference. The CRC judging circuit 930 detectswhether or not there is a transmission error or the like based on thejudged code.

The memory device 880 includes the nonvolatile semiconductor devicedescribed in any of Embodiment Modes 1 to 8 and a ROM which is unable tobe rewritten. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of the presentinvention can lower drive voltage; therefore, a communication distanceextends and communication with high quality is possible.

A signal is sent from a communication device such as a reader/writer tothe semiconductor device 800, and a signal sent from the semiconductordevice 800 is received by the communication device, whereby data of thesemiconductor device 800 can be read. Next, a communication operation ofthe semiconductor device 800 is described. A wireless signal is receivedby the antenna 890 and then sent to the power supply circuit 820 throughthe high-frequency circuit 810, whereby a high power supply potential(hereinafter referred to as VDD) is generated. The VDD is supplied toeach circuit in the semiconductor device 800. Note that a low powersupply potential (hereinafter referred to as VSS) is common in theplural circuits included in the semiconductor device 800 and the VSS canbe a ground potential (GND).

A signal sent to the data demodulating circuit 850 through thehigh-frequency circuit 810 is demodulated (hereinafter this signal isreferred to as a demodulated signal). Moreover, signals and thedemodulated signals passed through the reset circuit 830 and the clockgenerating circuit 840 via the high-frequency circuit 810 are sent tothe control circuit 870. The signals sent to the control circuit 870 areanalyzed by the code extracting circuit 910, the code judging circuit920, the CRC judging circuit 930, and the like. Then, based on theanalyzed signals, information of the semiconductor device 800 stored inthe memory device 880 is output. The information of the semiconductordevice 800 which has been output is encoded through the output unitcircuit 940. Furthermore, the encoded information of the semiconductordevice 800 passes through the data modulating circuit 860 and then issent as a wireless signal by the antenna 890.

An example of usage of the semiconductor device 800 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 51A and 51B. As shown in FIG. 51A, a sidesurface of a mobile terminal such as a cellular phone including adisplay portion 3210 is provided with a reader/writer 3200. Meanwhile, aside surface of a product 3220 is provided with the semiconductor device800 (FIG. 51A). When the reader/writer 3200 is held over thesemiconductor device 800, information stored in the semiconductor device800 is sent and received by the reader/writer. As a result, the displayportion 3210 of the mobile terminal displays information on the product,such as a material, a place of origin, an inspection result for eachproduction step, a history of the distribution process, and adescription of the product.

As shown in FIG. 51B, when a product 3260 is transferred by a conveyerbelt, the product 3260 can be inspected with the use of thesemiconductor device 800 attached to the product 3260 and areader/writer 3240. With the use of the semiconductor device 800 capableof wireless communication in such an inspection system, a variety ofinformation that cannot be directly displayed on the product 3260 can beobtained easily.

Embodiment Mode 10

In this embodiment mode, as a semiconductor device, electronic devicesprovided with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device will bedescribed. The present invention can be used for electronic devicesprovided with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device as a memorydevice of all fields. For example, the following can be given: a camerasuch as a video camera or a digital camera, a goggle type display (ahead mounted display), a navigation system, an audio reproducing device(car audio set, audio component set, or the like), a computer, a gamemachine, a portable information terminal (mobile computer, mobile phone,portable game machine, e-book reader, or the like), and an imagereproducing device provided with a recording medium (specifically, adevice provided with a display device that can reproduce a recordingmedium such as a digital versatile disc (DVD) and display the image),and the like. Specific examples of these electronic devices are shown inFIGS. 52A to 52E.

FIGS. 52A and 52B show a digital camera. FIG. 52B is a view showing theback of the digital camera shown in FIG. 52A. This digital camera shownin FIGS. 52A and 52B includes a chassis 2111, a display portion 2112, alens 2113, operation keys 2114, a shutter button 2115, a storage medium2116 provided with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, and thelike. The chassis 2111 has a structure in which users can take out thestorage medium 2116. In the digital camera, a still image or a dynamicimage which is taken, or audio data which is recorded can be stored inthe storage medium 2116. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory devicedescribed in any of Embodiment Modes 2 to 8 is applied to the storagemedium 2116.

FIG. 52C is an outside view of a cellular phone. The cellular phone is atypical example of a mobile terminal. The cellular phone includes achassis 2121, a display portion 2122, operation keys 2123, and the like.The cellular phone is provided with a storage medium 2125 including anonvolatile semiconductor memory device. The chassis 2121 has astructure in which the storage medium 2125 can be taken out. Data suchas phone numbers, image data, music data, audio data, or the likeincluded in the cellular phone can be stored in the storage medium 2125,and the image data, music data, or audio data stored in the storagemedium 2125 can be reproduced by the cellular phone. The nonvolatilesemiconductor memory device described in any of Embodiment Modes 2 to 8is applied to the storage medium 2125.

FIG. 52D is an outside view of a digital player. The digital player is atypical example of an audio device. The digital player includes a mainbody 2130, a display portion 2131, an operation portion 2133, earphones2134, and the like. Note that, headphones or wireless earphones can beused instead of the earphone 2134. A storage medium 2132 provided with anonvolatile semiconductor memory device is incorporated in the main body2130 of the digital player. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory devicedescribed in any of Embodiment Modes 2 to 8 is applied to the storagemedium 2132. The main body 2130 may have a structure in which users cantake out the storage medium 2132.

For example, a NAND type nonvolatile semiconductor memory device with amemory capacity of 20 to 200 gigabytes (GB) can be used for the storagemedium 2132. The operation portion 2133 is operated, whereby a stillimage, a dynamic image, audio data, or music data can be stored in thestorage medium 2132, and the stored data can be reproduced.

FIG. 52E is an outside view of an e-book reader (also referred to aselectronic paper). This e-book reader includes a main body 2141, adisplay portion 2142, operation keys 2143, and a storage medium 2144. Amodem may be built in the main body 2141, or a structure in whichinformation can be sent and received wirelessly may be employed. Thenonvolatile semiconductor memory device described in any of EmbodimentModes 2 to 8 can be applied to the storage medium 2144. For example, aNAND type nonvolatile semiconductor memory device with a memory capacityof 20 to 200 gigabytes (GB) can be used. The operation keys 2143 areoperated, whereby a still image, a dynamic image, audio data, or musicdata can be recorded in the storage medium 2144, and stored data can bereproduced. The main body 2141 may have a structure in which users cantake out the storage medium 2144.

As described above, an application range of the semiconductor device ofthe present invention is extremely wide, and the semiconductor device ofthe present invention can be applied to electronic devices of all fieldsas long as the electronic devices have a storage medium. A nonvolatilestorage medium in which a charge retention characteristic is improved isprovided so that reliability of memory performance of the electronicdevices can be improved.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, a charge retention characteristic of a memorytransistor of the present invention will be described. FIG. 53 is across-sectional view of a nonvolatile memory transistor of the presentinvention. This nonvolatile memory transistor is referred to as a“Memory Transistor TM-1”.

The Memory Transistor TM-1 is formed over a glass substrate 501. A baseinsulating film 502 is formed over the glass substrate 501. A siliconfilm 503 that forms a semiconductor region is formed over the baseinsulating film 502. In the silicon film 503, a channel formation region504, a source region 505, a drain region 506, a low concentrationimpurity region 507, and a low concentration impurity region 508 areformed. The regions 505 to 508 are n-type impurity regions, and theMemory Transistor TM-1 is an n-channel transistor.

A first insulating film 511, a first silicon nitride film 512, a secondsilicon nitride film 513, a second insulating film 514, and a gateelectrode 515 are stacked over the silicon film 503. A stacked film ofthe first silicon nitride film 512 and the second silicon nitride film513 forms a charge storage layer 516. The gate electrode 515 is formedof a conductive film having a two-layer structure including a tantalumnitride film 517 and a tungsten film 518.

In the Memory Transistor TM-1, each side surface of the gate electrode515 is provided with a spacer 520 formed of an insulating film. Aninsulating film 521 and an insulating film 522 which cover the siliconfilm 503, the first insulating film 511, the charge storage layer 516,the second insulating film 514, the gate electrode 515, and the spacer520 are formed over the glass substrate 501. A source electrode 523which is connected to the source region 505 and a drain electrode 524which is connected to the drain region 506 are formed over theinsulating film 522.

In the Memory Transistor TM-1, the first silicon nitride film 512 is afilm which is formed using NH₃ as a nitrogen source gas by a plasma CVDmethod, and the second silicon nitride film 513 is a film which isformed using N₂ as a source gas by a plasma CVD method. That is, thefirst silicon nitride film 512 is a film that contains a larger numberof N—H bonds, and the second silicon nitride film 513 is a film thatcontains a smaller number of N—H bonds.

As comparative examples, three kinds of nonvolatile memory transistorseach having a different charge storage layer 516 are formed. One is anonvolatile memory transistor in which the charge storage layer 516 isformed only of the first silicon nitride film 512. This memorytransistor is referred to as a “Comparative Memory Transistor TM-A”.Another is a nonvolatile memory transistor in which the charge storagelayer 516 is formed only of the second silicon nitride film 513. Thismemory transistor is referred to as a “Comparative Memory TransistorTM-B”. The other is a nonvolatile memory transistor in which the secondsilicon nitride film 513 and the first silicon nitride film 512 arestacked in this order as the charge storage layer 516. This memorytransistor is referred to as a “Comparative Memory Transistor TM-C”.

Next, a method for manufacturing the Memory Transistor TM-1 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 54A to 54C, 55A to 55C, 56A to 56C,and 57A to 57D. First, as shown in FIG. 54A, the base insulating film502 is formed over the glass substrate 501, and a crystalline siliconfilm 530 is formed over the base insulating film 502. Here, the baseinsulating film 502 has a two-layer structure. A silicon oxynitride filmhaving a thickness of 50 nm is formed as the first layer using SiH₄,NH₃, and N₂O as a process gas by a plasma CVD method, and a siliconoxynitride film having a thickness of 100 nm is formed as the secondlayer using SiH₄ and N₂O as a process gas. The first silicon oxynitridefilm contains more nitrogen than oxygen, and the second siliconoxynitride film contains more oxygen than nitrogen.

The crystalline silicon film 530 is a film obtained by crystallizing anamorphous silicon film. First, an amorphous silicon film having athickness of 66 nm is formed over the base insulating film 502 by aplasma CVD method using SiH₄ as a process gas. Next, by irradiation withthe second harmonic (532 nm) of a continuous-wave Nd:YVO₄ laser(fundamental wave of 1064 nm), the amorphous silicon film iscrystallized to form the crystalline silicon film 530. Next, in order tocontrol the threshold voltage of the Memory Transistor TM-1, thecrystalline silicon film 530 is doped with boron by an ion dopingapparatus.

A resist mask is formed over the crystalline silicon film 530. By use ofthis resist mask, the crystalline silicon film 530 is etched into adesired shape to form the silicon film 503. After the resist mask isremoved, the first insulating film 511 is formed (see FIG. 54B). In ahigh density plasma processing apparatus which generates plasma by amicrowave, the solid-phase oxidation treatment and the solid-phasenitridation treatment are performed on the silicon film 503, whereby thefirst insulating film 511 is formed.

Next, the first silicon nitride film 512 having a thickness of 5 nm, thesecond silicon nitride film 513 having a thickness of 5 nm, and thesecond insulating film 514 having a thickness of 10 nm are formed insuccession over the first insulating film 511, in the same plasma CVDapparatus (see FIG. 54C).

For the formation of the first silicon nitride film 512, NH₃ is used asa nitrogen source gas and SiH₄ is used as a silicon source gas. SiH₄ ata flow rate of 2 sccm and NH₃ at a flow rate of 400 sccm are supplied toa reaction chamber. In addition, the substrate temperature is set at400° C., the reaction pressure is set at 40 Pa, the distance betweenelectrodes is set at 30 mm, and the RF power is set at 100 W.

For the formation of the second silicon nitride film 513, N₂ is used asa nitrogen source gas, SiH₄ is used as a silicon source gas, and Ar isadded to a process gas. SiH₄ at a flow rate of 2 sccm, N₂ at a flow rateof 400 sccm, and Ar at a flow rate of 50 sccm are supplied to a reactionchamber. Similarly to when the first silicon nitride film 512 is formed,the substrate temperature is set at 400° C., the reaction pressure isset at 40 Pa, the distance between electrodes is set at 30 mm, and theRF power is set at 100 W.

The second insulating film 514 is a silicon oxynitride film which has athickness of 10 nm and contains more oxygen than nitrogen in all thememory transistors, and SiH₄ and N₂O are used as a process gas. SiH₄ ata flow rate of 1 sccm and N₂O at a flow rate of 800 sccm are supplied toa reaction chamber. In addition, the substrate temperature is set at400° C., the reaction pressure is set at 40 Pa, the distance betweenelectrodes is set at 28 mm, and the RF power is set at 150 W.

In a process of FIG. 54C, in the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-A, thefirst silicon nitride film 512 having a thickness of 10 nm and thesecond insulating film 514 are formed in succession, and in theComparative Memory Transistor TM-B, the second silicon nitride film 513having a thickness of 10 nm and the second insulating film 514 areformed in succession. In the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-C, thesecond silicon nitride film 513 having a thickness of 5 nm, the firstsilicon nitride film 512 having a thickness of 5 nm, and the secondinsulating film 514 having a thickness of 10 nm are formed insuccession. Each of the comparative memory transistors TM-A, TM-B, andTM-C are formed by a process similar to the manufacturing process of theMemory Transistor TM-1 other than the process of FIG. 54C.

In the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-A and the Comparative MemoryTransistor TM-C, the film formation conditions of the first siliconnitride film 512 are common to those of the Memory Transistor TM-1. Inthe Comparative Memory Transistor TM-B and the Comparative MemoryTransistor TM-C, the film formation conditions of the second siliconnitride film 513 are common to those of the Memory Transistor TM-1.Table 5 shows a structure of the charge storage layer 516 of each memorytransistor.

TABLE 5 Process gases and Flow rate Memory Transistor thereof [sccm]TM-1 TM-A TM-B TM-C First SiN SiH₄/NH₃ = 2/400 5 nm 10 nm 5 nm film 512(Lower (Upper layer) layer) Second SiN SiH₄/N₂/Ar = 5 nm 10 nm 5 nm film513 2/400/50 (Upper (Lower layer) layer)

Next, the tantalum nitride film 517 having a thickness of 30 nm isformed over the second insulating film 514, and then, the tungsten film518 having a thickness of 370 nm is formed (see FIG. 55A). The tantalumnitride film 517 and the tungsten film 518 are formed by a sputteringapparatus.

Next, a stacked film of the tantalum nitride film 517 and the tungstenfilm 518 is etched, and the gate electrode 515 is formed. First, aresist mask is formed over the tungsten film 518. By use of this resistmask, the tungsten film 518 is etched. The tungsten film 518 is etchedby a plasma etching apparatus, and CF₄, Cl₂ and O₂ are used as anetching gas. After the resist mask is removed, the etched tungsten film518 is used as a mask, and the tantalum nitride film 517 is etched. Thetantalum nitride film 517 is etched by a plasma etching apparatus, andCl₂ is used as an etching gas. As described above, the gate electrode515 is formed (see FIG. 55B).

Next, in order to form a high-resistance impurity region in the MemoryTransistor TM-1, the gate electrode 515 is used as a mask, and thesilicon film 503 is doped with phosphorus. This process is performed bya plasma doping apparatus. A process gas is PH₃, and a dose is 1×10¹³ions/cm². In this process, the channel formation region 504, the lowconcentration impurity region 507, and the low concentration impurityregion 508 are formed in a self-aligned manner in the silicon film 503(FIG. 55C).

Next, as shown in FIG. 56A, each side surface of the gate electrode 515is provided with the spacer 520. The spacer 520 is formed in such a waythat an insulating film that forms the spacer 520 is formed to cover thegate electrode 515, the second insulating film 514, the charge storagelayer 516, the first insulating film 511, and the silicon film 503, andthis insulating film is etched. Here, two insulating films that form thespacer 520 are formed. A silicon oxynitride film having a thickness of100 nm is formed by a plasma CVD method as the first layer, and asilicon oxide film having a thickness of 200 nm is formed by alow-pressure CVD method as the second layer. The second insulating film514, the second silicon nitride film 513, and the first silicon nitridefilm 512 are also etched by the etching treatment by which the spacer520 is formed. As shown in FIG. 56A, the charge storage layer 516 formedof the first silicon nitride film 512 and the second silicon nitridefilm 513 is formed.

Next, in order to form the source region 505 and the drain region 506,the silicon film 503 is doped with phosphorus using the gate electrode515 and the spacer 520 as masks. In this process, a plasma dopingapparatus is used, PH₃ is used as a process gas, and a dose is 3×10¹⁵ions/cm². In this process, the source region 505 and the drain region506 are formed in a self-aligned manner in the silicon film 503 (seeFIG. 56B).

Next, the insulating film 521 and the insulating film 522 are formedover the entire surface of the glass substrate 501 (FIG. 56C). As theinsulating film 521, a silicon oxynitride film which has a thickness of100 nm and contains hydrogen is formed. This silicon oxynitride film isformed by a plasma CVD apparatus, and SiH₄, NH₃, and N₂O are used as aprocess gas. As the insulating film 522, a silicon oxynitride filmhaving a thickness of 600 nm is formed by a plasma CVD method. For theprocess gas of this silicon oxynitride film, SiH₄ and N₂O are used.

After the insulating film 522 is formed, heat treatment is performed onthe silicon film 503 by a heating furnace. This heat treatment istreatment to activate boron and phosphorus added to the silicon film503, and to hydrogenate the silicon film 503 with hydrogen contained inthe insulating film 521.

Next, contact holes to reach the source region 505 and the drain region506 are formed in the insulating film 521 and the insulating film 522. Aconductive film that forms the source electrode 523 and the drainelectrode 524 is formed over the insulating film 522. Here, theconductive film has a four-layer structure. The first layer is atitanium film having a thickness of 60 nm, the second layer is atitanium nitride film having a thickness of 40 nm, the third layer is apure aluminum film having a thickness of 300 nm, and the fourth layer isa titanium nitride film having a thickness of 100 nm. This conductivefilm is etched, and the source electrode 523 and the drain electrode 524are formed (FIG. 53). As described above, the Memory Transistor TM-1 iscompleted. In addition, the comparative memory transistors TM-A, TM-B,and TM-C are formed similarly.

In order to evaluate a charge retention characteristic of each memorytransistor, the characteristic of drain/source currentI_(DS)-gate/source voltage V_(GS) (hereinafter referred to as anI_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristic) after the writing operation, and theI_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristic after the erasing operation are measured.From this measurement results, each retention characteristic isobtained. FIG. 57A is a graph of a retention characteristic of theMemory Transistor TM-1. FIGS. 57B to 57D are graphs of retentioncharacteristics of the comparative examples. FIG. 57B is a graph of aretention characteristic of the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-A. FIG.57C is a graph of a retention characteristic of the Comparative MemoryTransistor TM-B. FIG. 57D is a graph of a retention characteristic ofthe Comparative Memory Transistor TM-C. The horizontal axis of eachgraph shows the elapsed time from the writing operation and the erasingoperation. Note that because the horizontal axis is a log scale, a pointwhen the writing operation is performed and a point when the erasingoperation is performed are expressed as 0.1 hour. The vertical axis isthreshold voltage Vth of each memory transistor calculated from themeasurement results of the I_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristics.

The writing operation is performed in such a way that the potential ofthe source electrode 523 and the potential of the drain electrode 524are set at 0 V, a writing voltage Wr is applied to the gate electrode515 at 1 millisecond, and electrons are injected into the charge storagelayer 516. The erasing operation is performed in the memory transistorin such a way that the potential of the source electrode 523 and thepotential of the drain electrode 524 are set at 0 V, an erasing voltageEr is applied to the gate electrode 515 at 1 millisecond. The writingvoltage Wr and the erasing voltage Er to each memory transistor areapplied using a pulse generator expander made by Agilent TechnologiesInc. (SMU and Pulse Generator Expander, model: 41501B). In addition, thewriting voltage Wr and the erasing voltage Er of each memory transistorare set as follows: for the Memory Transistor TM-1, Wr=18 V and Er=−18V; for the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-A, Wr=18 V and Er=−18 V; forthe Comparative Memory Transistor TM-B, Wr=18.5 V and Er=−18.5 V; andfor the Comparative Memory Transistor TM-C, Wr=17 V and Er=−17V.

The measurement of I_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristics after the writingoperation of the memory transistor was performed as follows. First, thewriting operation in which data was written to the memory transistor isperformed. Next, a state that the memory transistor which was in awriting state is heated at 85° C. by a hot plate was kept, and afterpredetermined time passed from the writing operation, the I_(DS)−V_(GS)characteristics of each memory transistor were measured. In addition,the measurement of the I_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristics after the erasingoperation was performed as follows. After data was written to the memorytransistor by the writing operation, the erasing operation wasperformed. A state that the memory transistor which was in an erasingstate was heated at 85° C. by a hot plate was kept, and after apredetermined time passed from the erasing operation, the I_(DS)−V_(GS)characteristics of each memory transistor were measured.

The measurement of the I_(DS)−V_(GS) characteristics was performed usinga semiconductor parameter analyzer made by Agilent Technologies Inc.(Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer, model: 4155C). At the time ofmeasurement, the potential of the source electrode 523 was held at 0 Vand the potential of the drain electrode 524 was held at 1 V, thepotential of the gate electrode 515 was changed from −6 V to +6 V, and achange of drain/source current I_(DS) with respect to the gate/sourcevoltage V_(GS) was measured. Note that the Memory Transistor TM-1 has achannel length L of 4 μm and a channel width W of 8 μM. The comparativememory transistors TM-A, TM-B, and TM-C each have a channel length L of4 μm and a channel width W of 4 μm.

The graphs shown in FIGS. 57A to 57D show that the Memory TransistorTM-1 has the widest Vth window. That is, a charge storage layer in whicha silicon nitride film in which NH₃ is used as a nitrogen source gas anda silicon nitride film in which N₂ is used as a nitrogen source gas arestacked is provided so that a charge retention characteristic of anonvolatile memory transistor can be improved. In other words, thecharge storage layer in which the silicon nitride film that contains alarger number of N—H bonds and the silicon nitride film that contains asmaller number of N—H bonds are stacked is provided so that the chargeretention characteristic of the nonvolatile memory transistor can beimproved.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial No.2007-077930 filed with Japan Patent Office on Mar. 23, 2007, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

1. A semiconductor device comprising a nonvolatile semiconductor memoryelement, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory element comprising: asemiconductor region comprising a semiconductor material, thesemiconductor region including a source region, a drain region, and achannel formation region; a first insulating film formed over thesemiconductor region; a first silicon nitride film formed over the firstinsulating film; a second silicon nitride film formed over the firstsilicon nitride film; and a conductive film formed over the secondsilicon nitride film, wherein the first silicon nitride film contains alarger number of N—H bonds than the second silicon nitride film, andwherein the second silicon nitride film is formed of silicon nitridewhich is stoichiometrically closer to Si₃N₄ than the first siliconnitride film.
 2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, whereinthe second silicon nitride film contains a larger number of Si—H bondsthan the first silicon nitride film.
 3. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second silicon nitride film contains alarger number of Si—X bonds (X is a halogen element) than the firstsilicon nitride film.
 4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,wherein the second silicon nitride film contains a larger number of Si—Hbonds and Si—X bonds (X is a halogen element) than the first siliconnitride film.
 5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, whereinthe nonvolatile semiconductor memory element comprises a secondinsulating film sandwiched between the semiconductor region and theconductive film and formed over the second silicon nitride film.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductorregion is formed in a semiconductor substrate.
 7. The semiconductordevice according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductor substrate is anyone of a single-crystal silicon substrate, a polycrystalline siliconsubstrate, a single-crystal silicon germanium substrate, apolycrystalline silicon germanium substrate, a single-crystal germaniumsubstrate, and a polycrystalline germanium substrate.
 8. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductorsubstrate is any one of an SOI (silicon on insulator) substrate, an SGOI(silicon-germanium on insulator) substrate, and a GOI (germanium oninsulator) substrate.
 9. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,wherein the semiconductor region is a semiconductor film formed over asubstrate with an insulating film interposed therebetween.
 10. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 9, wherein the substrate is anyone of a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, and a plastic film.
 11. Asemiconductor device comprising a nonvolatile semiconductor memoryelement, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory element comprising: asemiconductor region comprising a semiconductor material, thesemiconductor region including a source region, a drain region, and achannel formation region; a first insulating film formed over thesemiconductor region; a first silicon nitride film formed over the firstinsulating film; a second silicon nitride film formed over the firstsilicon nitride film; and a conductive film formed over the secondsilicon nitride film, wherein the second silicon nitride film has ahigher ratio of a concentration of bonds between silicon and at leastone of hydrogen and halogen elements to a concentration ofnitrogen-hydrogen (N—H) bonds than the first silicon nitride film, andwherein the second silicon nitride film is formed of silicon nitridewhich is stoichiometrically closer to Si₃N₄ than the first siliconnitride film.
 12. The semiconductor device according to claim 11,wherein the second silicon nitride film has a higher ratio of aconcentration of silicon-hydrogen (Si—H) bonds to the concentration ofnitrogen-hydrogen (N—H) bonds ((Si—H)/(N—H)) than the first siliconnitride film.
 13. The semiconductor device according to claim 11,wherein the second silicon nitride film has a higher ratio of aconcentration of silicon-halogen element (Si—X; X is a halogen element)bonds to the concentration of nitrogen-hydrogen (N—H) bonds((Si—X)/(N—H)) than the first silicon nitride film.
 14. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein the second siliconnitride film has a higher ratio of a sum of a concentration ofsilicon-hydrogen (Si—H) bonds and a concentration of silicon-halogenelement (Si—X; X is a halogen element) bonds to the concentration ofnitrogen-hydrogen (N—H) bonds ((Si—H+Si—X)/(N—H)) than the first siliconnitride film.
 15. The semiconductor device according to claim 11,wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory element comprises a secondinsulating film sandwiched between the semiconductor region and theconductive film and formed over the second silicon nitride film.
 16. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein the semiconductorregion is formed in a semiconductor substrate.
 17. The semiconductordevice according to claim 16, wherein the semiconductor substrate is anyone of a single-crystal silicon substrate, a polycrystalline siliconsubstrate, a single-crystal silicon germanium substrate, apolycrystalline silicon germanium substrate, a single-crystal germaniumsubstrate, and a polycrystalline germanium substrate.
 18. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 16, wherein the semiconductorsubstrate is any one of an SOI (silicon on insulator) substrate, an SGOI(silicon-germanium on insulator) substrate, and a GOI (germanium oninsulator) substrate.
 19. The semiconductor device according to claim11, wherein the semiconductor region is a semiconductor film formed overa substrate with an insulating film interposed therebetween.
 20. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 19, wherein the substrate is anyone of a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, and a plastic film.
 21. Asemiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor region comprising asemiconductor material, the semiconductor region including a sourceregion, a drain region, and a channel formation region; a firstinsulating film formed over the semiconductor region; a first siliconnitride film formed over the first insulating film; a second siliconnitride film formed over the first silicon nitride film; and a controlgate formed over the second silicon nitride film, wherein the firstsilicon nitride film contains a larger number of N—H bonds than thesecond silicon nitride film, and wherein the second silicon nitride filmis formed of silicon nitride which is stoichiometrically closer to Si₃N₄than the first silicon nitride film.
 22. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 21, wherein the second silicon nitride film containsa larger number of Si—H bonds than the first silicon nitride film. 23.The semiconductor device according to claim 21, wherein the secondsilicon nitride film contains a larger number of Si—X bonds (X is ahalogen element) than the first silicon nitride film.